The Princess and her Boys
by A mysterious dreamer
Summary: Marinette starred at the cat-like man in front of her with disbelief like he had grown two heads, "so let me get this right, you want ME to spend 5 months with three famous attractive boys in their super huge villa, all the way while skipping school AND pretending to be a boy!" the man gave her a sheepish wide grin. Yep she was in some deep shit.
1. Cheesecake delivery

**Hi guys, long time no see I know but I'm finally on vacation yay! So this story, I've been wanting to write this story for almost a year and finally had the motivation (and time) to write it.**

 **WARNING: Mention of death and cancer. I know it doesn't count as a trigger, but it may be a heavy topic for some people who had experienced and can bring unwanted memories, it's nothing too deep or serious but I thought everyone should be warned.**

 **Also, This one is inspired by a k-drama (tell me if you can figure it out although it's quite an old one) there are NO Miraculouses/magic, it's romantic and a bit cheesy with a reverse harem going there, but don't worry Marinette is not the helpless naïve MC (those make me cringe to death) I'm trying to make her a bit more of a badass girl who take no shit from anyone, so yeah YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! Now enjoy lol.**

* * *

 _Summary:_

 _Marinette starred at the cat-like man in front of her with disbelief like he grew two head, "so let me get this right, you want ME to spend 5 months with three famous attractive boys in their super huge villa, all the way while skipping school AND pretending to be a boy?!" the man gave her a sheepish wide grin. Yep she was in some deep shit._

 _ **The beginning**_

19 years old Marinette Dupain-Cheng was having the most difficult and worst days of her life. She had graduated this year and turned 19 yet she wasn't sure what to do with her future, she was thankful that summer vacation had only started which gave her a fair amount of time to think up a solution.

Her main goal in life was always to be a fashion designer, so normally her first choice was to apply for a fashion college, however such colleges were way expensive. Of course she can always aim for a scholarship, which she was already preparing by the way, but it wasn't certain that she would get it, so she may as well have other back up plans. She could still go to a normal university that she had already been accepted to and maybe take some fashion courses, internships could be really helpful right now and searching for a part-time job was well needed if she wanted to depend on herself, searching for an apartment was off limits since her mom wouldn't approve of her moving away anyway and she couldn't leave her alone either, the only have each other to relay on now.

Letting a long sigh, Marinette stretched in her seat, her head was pondering from all the thinking and she needed a quick break, she can work on her scholarship demand later and see how things would go from there. It really bothered her though, everyone from her class already knew what they were going to do, already made choices and booked a place in their chosen university or whatever they were planning to do after graduation, everyone except for her, she wished things could be easy and that she shouldn't worry this much, but she knew too well that life wasn't always fair or easy. She considered giving up on her dreams many times and just settle with working in the bakery or find some well paying career or something, but her dear mother always brought her hope and kept cheering her and pushing her to go chase her dreams, Mari decided to do just that but if anything came up she would drop it all at once and just settle for a normal job.

She shifted her attention to her computer screen and started scrolling down the news feed, none of them caught her attention, but she noticed that the most popular articles were about the famous band 4Bs especially about the sickness of one of her members. Marinette wasn't that interested in bands honestly, her favorite artists were all…solos she guessed, like Jagged Stone or Clara Nightingale, however she did hear a lot of her classmates; manly the girls; talk about this famous boy band that everyone adored and was rising to be one of the most well known bands in France. They had a few songs that she liked and weren't too much cheesy for her taste but that's it, she didn't keep track of their news and whereabouts, nor did she go on and on about her huge crush on one of the members, heck she didn't even knew what these boys looked like or who they are for the matter, like she said she only listened to few of their songs; either on the radio or on the phone of one of her friends.

The bluenette clicked on a video with a bored expression and started watching.

"famous band 4Bs has notably reduced their activities as well as appearances in the last few months, their new album "Over The Moon" was also delayed", a bald energetic man spoke over the screen, Marinette recognized him as Alec; one of her favorite show hosts, "turns out quiet member Nathaniel Kurtzberg; is suffering from some health problems, explaining why he was seen a few weeks ago leaving a local hospital. The band's manager reassured it was nothing too dangerous but our favorite red head will have to take a serious break from "the fame", get well soon Nathaniel!" Alec winked giving a big thumps up.

"For all the fans going all sad, don't worry! 4Bs will still continue to bring you all the awesome melodies and even better, some of our sources confirmed that a new member is joining in and would be signing a contract soon, it's not clear if the new guy will only take Nat's place temporary or will be a permanent member, one thing for sure is that fans aren't that happy with this new revelation," he chuckled nervously before adding, "anyways stay tuned for more info's next week! And now coming up next Clara's new hit…"

"Marinette sweetie, can you come here for a sec!" upon hearing her mother's voice Marinette quickly closed the video and went downstairs while shouting a small "coming!" in her way.

She was greeted by Sabin's smiley face, "honey I hate asking but can you do a small delivery for me?" her mother asked hopefully, "Henry is taking a break and I'm busy with work here but we need to take this cheesecake to some costumer. Can you do it please?"

Her mother didn't need to ask twice nor give an explanation; Marinette was happy helping her mother out whenever she had the chance. The work at the bakery got harder now with only Sabin (Marinette was busy with school back then ) which forced them to hire two more employee to help her, Henry and Amy, both were in college and older than Marinette, they only worked part time but they were great help.

"Of course maman," she smiled happily, "just give me the address and I'm ready to go!"

Her mother chuckled lightly, "maybe consider changing from your PJs first sweetie."

She quickly looked down at her clothes before grinning sheepishly "oops! Be right back!"

"Ah Marinette you're clothes aren't dry yet so wear something else."

The bluenette sighed in a bit of annoyance, she liked wearing her favorite pink jeans and white T-shirt but she couldn't exactly wear them forever nor she would blame her mom for that, the woman was only keeping her clean.

She didn't have the energy or the time to go on about the outfit she would wear, she was just doing a quick trip and would be back in no time. So she fished a light pink dress and put it on with a white t-shirt underneath it and short white legging.

Tying her hairs in two pigtails, -a signature look of hers that she adored and was not going to drop it any time soon even if everyone insisted that she was too old for it-, and made her way down stairs, her mother wasted no time in giving her a small box with the bakery's logo on it along with a sheet of paper with the address.

"Take the scooter and be safe" Sabin gave her daughter a small kiss on her cheek and went back to work.

Marinette grabbed the nearby keys and walked to the back of the bakery, a white and pink scooter was waiting for her there, she sighed a fond yet sad smile making its way to her lips as she touched the vehicle. It was a gift from her father four years ago when she was only fifteen, she was so happy back then and was dying to try it out even though her mother protested saying she was too young to be driving, now it served as a precious memory of her father.

Tom Dupain passed away three years ago due to cancer, he had suffered so much, an although Marinette and her mom were mentally prepared for to accept the tragedy that would soon befall on them, it still hurts, the bluenette can hardly believe what had actually happened, sometimes it all feels like a dream, a nightmare, and when she wakes up; she would find her dad healthy and happy, baking fresh pastries downstairs. Her dad was a great man, a loving husband, and a caring father, he always looked after everyone he knew, his heart filled with kindness and passion.

After his death things weren't the same, her mother was shook by the incident and would often break in to tears remembering him, the work at the bakery got noticeably slower and harder so they were obliged to hire helpers, their financial situation wasn't at it best either; which made thing difficult and stressful, it was one of the reason why Marinette was so desperately considering dropping the whole fashion designer thing and just opt for something else more useful in supporting her mom, as for now she really hoped they wouldn't be obliged to sell the scooter as it held a special place in her heart and many memories that concerned her dad.

Shaking her head slightly, she took a deep breath and put the helmet on, she placed the pastries carefully in the back and got on the scooter. She took the note of paper and blinked a few times upon reading the address, 'Miraculous' it read, she recognized the name to be that famous talent agency that Jagged Stone worked for.

It was a bit far from the actual city and her scooter wasn't that fast but Marinette was so damn excited, if she was lucky enough she could meet the star outside a crowded concert or at least have a glimpse of him.

She smiled fondly and went on her way, enjoying the small breeze of wind and the sunny weather, it was a quiet lovely day, she could feel it, " _today was going to be a good day"._

* * *

Finally she arrived at her destination, deciding to stop a few meters away from the agency. The building was kind of huge; she decided, its name shining from the distance, she tried to guess how many rooms were there or how many person worked there, she also wondered if she could snatch a job here as a stylist or simply a secretary; no doubt the payment would be good enough and she could have the chance to see her star every day and it would be a great experience.

She shook her head trying to clear the thoughts away, she can think about that later but now she had a job to do. Taking the box of cheesecake in one hand, Marinette walked in the road taking to the agency, her helmet was still resting on her head as she felt an urge to keep it with her. As she got closer, she could see a crowd of girls (and few countable boys) screaming and cheering, upon closer distance it was clear that they were 4Bs fans, the band's logo and name being present in their shirts, flags, banners… everywhere!

Making her way through the crowd was a lot more awkward than she thought, everyone kept casting her looks of disgust, envy and grudge, she heard some of them whisper things like 'we were here before her!' and 'who does she think herself walking straight to them like that!'. She took deep breaths trying to restrain herself from screaming in their faces. " _God I'm not interested in your stupid pretty boys"_ she thought to herself with an eye roll, it also crossed her mind that these fans might have been waiting all day here, she saw how fangirls/boys acted on TV and honestly it made her feel both pity and disgust.

Finally arriving at the gates she sighed and was thankful for the helmet, she took a few glances around before shifting her attention to the two guards that were eyeing her carefully.

"Um… Delivery?" she wasn't sure what to say, her deliveries usually consisted of their familiar customers, she would drop at their house or work place, exchanging polite greetings and chats before handing the pastries, this however was new to her, it didn't help that the guards were extremely intimidating.

One of the men raised an eyebrow but his gaze suddenly softened and he sighed as if remembering something, he fished a talkie-walkie and after a few seconds he turned to Marinette.

"Do you have the cheesecake?" he asked a bit annoyed and she nodded her head furiously. He returned to the call before ending it and looking at her once more, "go straight to the entrance, first door at your right, your 'client'" he said making an air quote, "should be there. And don't try wandering off or think about going on a little field trip in the building kid, I got my eyes on you".

Marie just nodded and shrugged, the guard gave a signal to the small cabinet inside and the door suddenly opened, so slightly; just enough to squeeze herself in without damaging the dessert.

She started walking straight to the big glass door, taking her time to observe her environment. Suddenly she heard load of screams and cheers from the outside, she turned behind her to see that all the fans were now yelling and crushing the guards trying to get inside, she raised an eyebrow and before she could realize what was going on, six bodyguards hurried in her way securing the path as four boys, not much older than her; walked outside of the building.

Marinette stood in awe unable to move, she didn't know why, maybe it was the rush of the moment or the fact that curiosity just took the best of her and she wanted to know what could make all this fuss.

Just as she was about to step aside, a boy with silk blond hair wearing dark clothes hurried her way, two bodyguards hot on his trail - Marinette could swear that his attire screamed he was going to a high class funeral-. The boy gave her a sharp clod stare which caused her to shiver, he turned away quickly with an expression of disgust " _well excuse you!"_ she thought to herself but was shoved away by one of the men.

The sudden push took her by surprise and she stumbled to keep her balance but failed, she tripped and felt the box flew from her hands as she neared to the ground. She closed her eyes waiting for her face to be kissed by the familiar earthy dust.

Thoughts of what was she going to do now rushed in her mind, not only was she making a fool from herself; but the cake would be ruined, would their client be ok with her running back to the bakery and getting another one? Or maybe they wouldn't mind mashed cake? " _Wait_ …" all of a sudden it occurred to her that the contact with the ground hadn't been made yet, there was no way she was that far from it, right?

Just then she noticed the tight grip on her arms, it wasn't that tight but rather smooth and warm, carefully and slowly she opened one eye then the other, only to be met with two aqua-blue orbs starring at her with a mix of confusion and amusement, "watch out there, it could've been dangerous" his voice was so calm and soothing like a sweet melody.

Marinette stiffened in her place and quickly shot up trying to stand properly and regain her composure, her action caused the boy before her to chuckle lightly and she responded by blinking her eyes, she wanted to say something, maybe thank him; really anything would be better than just standing there starring like a dumb idiot.

"here you go miss, I believe you dropped something" a voice said from beside her, she turned to see a blond boy, he looked a lot like the first one but his face was more warmer even his emerald eyes looked more lively and kind compared to the jerk that she almost fell because of his attitude.

As if realization hit her, she snapped her gaze to his hand to find the box of pastries unharmed, she sighed in relief knowing it was safe and sound. The boy seemed to notice her reaction and gave it to her as he said "good thing I caught it, huh?" she found herself nodding happily as she took it and held it closer to her, he gave her big grin revealing his shiny white teeth, the boy with blue highlights in his hair also smiled gently at her.

The bluenette was about to thank both of them when someone walked past them, he stopped and turned to the two other boys holding his arm up for them and pointing to his watch, "late", he said from behind his surgical mask, he casted a quick look in her direction and continued his way, Marinette found some familiarity in his red hair and light bored turquoise eyes, she had seen him before but couldn't quite place when.

"Right." The blond said in a flat tone, but smiled at her regardless, "bye~~" he waved at her and run to the exit, the last boy also gave her a curious look before putting a hand on her shoulder.

"try paying more attention" his voice wasn't one of mockery but rather of concern but still held a hint of amusement, he smiled one last time before following the others, the last bodyguard right behind him.

Marinette found herself in more shock trying to process what happened, but the cheers outside snapped her from her frozen state. The four boys were surrounded by the many fans, some giving presents, the others asking for autographs and some just screaming loving statements to the band as a whole or one specific member asking for their attention.

Just then it hit her that the fans were screaming 4Bs, "so those are the infamous 4Bs" she said quietly to herself, the girls in her class would die of jealousy if they knew that plain old her got to see the band up close, she let a sarcastic chuckle

"heh, lucky me".

Rolling her eyes, the girl walked straight inside the building, taking her helmet away; she turned right just as instructed and found a red door. Wasting no more time in admiring the surrounding, the bluenette knocked lightly, no one responded so she just shrugged and opened the door.

The room was very dark and stinky, she noted, she made a disgusted face as mix of cheese, sweat and something else she couldn't quite recognize filled her nose trills, she considered just leaving as the room sounded rather abandoned to her but stopped in her track upon noticing a body on the ground, the person was laying straight on their stomach with no move coming from them.

she gulped hard and inched closer, " _are they… dead?"_ she thought to herself, but the thought quickly vanished when she spotted the person shifting a bit, they raised their head in her direction, their eyes almost closed as if they were either sleeping or crying.

"I…uh…Delivery!" she said holding the box to them, damn! She had to work on her social skills and learn to form a coherent sentence around strangers.

"oh!" the figure said sleepily, and it was clear to her that they were a man, they pointed to the light switch and Marinette obeyed by turning the light on, he grumbled a bit before adding "thanks, put it on the table right there, the money should be there too."

She nodded and walked to the small glass table, she put the box then proceeded to take the money, unfortunately for her; her hand slipped and she accidently knocked down the cup of coffee that was settled there.

"I-I'm so sorry!" she cried before attempting to clean it using a white paper only to make matter worst "I'll fix it just give me a sec!"

"It's fine" the man who now sat more properly on the ground said, "it happens all the time, they'll take care of it just leave already" he yawned and looked at her with a bored expression.

"O-ok" she turned to him and gave him an apologetic look, "sorry again", she sighed and was about to exit the room when he stopped her right there.

"Wait!" he yelled causing her to look at him again, his eyes were shot wide open with a glint of amazement and craziness that sent shiver down her spin, she had a bad feeling and was itching to just get out of here.

"you!" he said again leaning closer with his hand, "just like him…" he murmured before smiling maniacally, he clapped his hands an looked up to the ceiling, "thank you for sending this angel, this savior to me!"

He closed his eyes enjoying the moment and Mari took this chance to run away, she carefully walked out of the room without him noticing and before she knew it she was running out of the building.

Her heart beat faster from fear and surprise, " _what the hell just happened?!"_ she thought to herself and gulped hard thinking about what he may had done to her if she didn't take action. The guards opened the gate for her again, giving her a look but not questioning her running, she was thankful for that for she just wanted to go home and not have to deal with anything else right now.

Just as she thought she made it safe out of the agency, she heard a voice calling, "hey stop! You're my ticket for surviving this, kid!" she flinched and ran faster searching for her scooter, it was a good thing the fans were noticeably less than before, the remaining ones only looking at the scene before them of the girls running with a helmet attached to her and an old man -now wearing black sunglasses-right behind her.

Marinette thanked her stars as she got on her scooter and fled away, she let a relaxed sigh but still drove her vehicle in hurry, one cannot be too certain.

Indeed one cannot rest at all, she realized when she spotted a black car following her, it got closer to her and even though she had probably went on full speed; she was still too slow compared to that car.

After a brief chasing scenario, in which the man had shouted to her many time to just stop and listen, he was finally able to double her, stopping the car right in front of her and blocking her way, Marinette stopped as well and cursed under her breaths, she was so close to getting back to the city and she was sure she could've lost him there, but nooo her misfortune had to step in and ruin her chances.

The man got out of his car, his black jacket in one hand and his other reached to his face to take his sunglasses off. He seemed to be either in his late twenties or early thirties, he had a tan skin and long dark messy hair that reached down to his neck, he wore plain black pants and a light green button up shirt that was dirty and stained with different substances, what caught the girl's attention were his green lime eyes, they were remarkably tired but had a narrow shape and a certain glint to them, she would be lying if she said they didn't remind her of a cat's eyes.

The man carefully took a step closer to her, and Marinette wasted no time in jumping out of the scooter and inching away, she couldn't go back to the agency, those people could be with him and she couldn't risk it, her only hope was to find a way to distract him and hopefully be fast enough to run past him and find help. She noticed a large wood stick on the ground and she quickly took it, waving it with a threatening gesture in his direction.

"look, if this is about the coffee; I told I'm sorry, it was an accident!" he laughed and shook his head, she gulped harder as he got closer, "get away you crazy cat-like lunatic!" she screamed and he held his hand in the air.

"Relax I'm not gonna hurt you, I swear!" she didn't seem convinced so he sighed and continued, "I know I may have come a bit too strong but I mean no harm! I was just too happy because a miracle just happened!" he grinned again and she frowned.

"y-you're being creepy again!" she said but seemed to relax a bit.

"Yeah, sorry," he chuckled, before looking at her seriously, "miss, just give me a sec, I really need to talk to you."

Marinette couldn't say way she trusted him but she felt he was sincere and decided to listen to him, but if he try anything funny she would not hesitate, "I'm listening" she said firmly while dropping her arms to the side.

He sighed in relief and said, "good, with that out of the way, we can finally talk in a decent way," she fought the urge to raise her eyebrow at him and point out that there was nothing decent in chasing a girl in the middle of an almost deserted area 'just to talk 'but decided against it, instead she waited patiently for him to speak.

"I know this may sound crazy and we just met but I need a favor", oh boy she didn't like where this was going, "what do you say about posing as a male candidate in front of 4Bs for the day?" he asked in a serious tone, his eyes narrowing dangerously and never leaving hers.

.

.

.

Little did she know, all hell would break loose from that moment on.

* * *

 **That was a long chapter! But idk I was so excited to write it and I feel like my writing got a bit better?**

 **Anyways tell me if you're interested in the story and if I should continue, also you probably guessed who the man is ;3**

 **TILL WE MEET AGAIN, KEEP DREAMING MES PETITS PAPILLIONS!**


	2. A weird kind of favors

**Thank you so much for all your kind comments! You all seemed to like it so far, so I decided to finish it! Please enjoy!**

* * *

 _A weird kind of favors_

"What do you say about posing as a male candidate in front of 4Bs for the day?" he asked in a serious tone, his eyes narrowing dangerously and never leaving hers.

Marinette stood dumbfounded, staring at him with wide eyes and trying to find a hint of sarcasm or joking in his features, there weren't any, the man in front of her was indeed serious in his demand.

"Yep I was right, you're totally out of your mind!" The bluenette declared and held the stick in the air once again, she took a fighting stance and started inching closer-she wasn't aiming to hurt him or anything, just scare him a bit so she could have a path out-.

"Hey, hey, hey! Let's not go crazy there!" he said waving his hands in surrender and fear.

"Crazy! Are you honestly listing to what you had just said?" She asked a bit annoyed, "I'm pretty sure I'm the sane one here."

He rolled his eyes and muttered something she couldn't catch before walking to a fallen tree trunk on the side of the road, "I hate talking too much and going around the bush but I guess you deserve a better explanation." He sighed and tapped at the empty space beside him, inviting her to sit with him.

Marinette hesitated for a moment not knowing if she could completely trust him, the code that she had memorized in her early childhood "stranger danger" rang in her mind as if warning her and demanding that she leaves since she had a good opportunity now, the man was out of her way and she could just run straight past that car and get away, but for some reason she didn't.

This man and his statements looked crazy sure but she felt like he was desperate somehow, his words from before indicated that he really needed her help and that she could get him out of whatever troubles he had, it was risky; she knew it, but she couldn't turn her back to someone asking for help, she could at least listen to what he have to say, if it was dangerous or indecent she will just walk away (and maybe inform the police, who knows; maybe this poor man was being threatened by some drug gang or whatever, or maybe HE was a drug dealer himself, in that case she needed to tell the authorities).

Man she really hated her kindness! It was an admirable trait that everyone praised her for and that her parents (especially her dad) had worked hard to cultivate it in her, but sometimes it led her straight to troubles.

With a long sigh, she finally managed to drag herself to the trunk, she sat at the very end and as far as possible from the cat-eyed man, he grinned at her and she narrowed her eyes, the wooden stick still resting in her firm hold.

"Let's start with introductions, "he cleared his throat and extended a hand to her, "you can call me Plagg, I'm the most recent manager of the famous 4Bs."

She looked cautiously at his hand and instead of shaking it with her own, she extended the stick to him, he blinked but shrugged deciding to go along with it.

"Marinette" she simply blurted not wanting to give any personal information, she quickly retrieved her weapon and starred at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Alright, so here's the deal. You know how Nathaniel Kurtzberg will be out of the business for a while?" he asked expecting her to answer immediately, but instead got a confused look as a response.

"Who?" she asked flatly.

"You know the drum player of 4Bs? The mysterious lone wolf? The…" the man known as Plagg was about to continue the many nicknames he heard the fans give the boy but decided to stop when he saw that Marinette was looking as confused as ever, he sighed and added "Red hair and turquoise eyes boy." He said in a bored tone.

The girl took a moment to consider, remembering the boy with the surgical mask that she had saw earlier, her eyes suddenly widened and she let a small 'oh' upon realizing something.

"Yeah the one who's sick or something?" she asked when she recalled the video she had watched this morning.

Plagg nodded in confirmation, "yes that boy, since he's sick he can't do 'band things' anymore, so we're looking for a replacement that may or may not be recruited as an official member later on."

"And all of this concerns me because…" she started while motioning with her free hand and waiting for an answer, not completely sure where this was going.

The man smirked and extended his hand to his jacket, he searched its pockets and Marinette grew cautious as she once more held the stick closer.

He noticed and chuckled, "relax; I'm not getting a gun to threaten you or something."

"suuure!" she thought sarcastically but dropped her stance when she saw a small white paper in his hand.

"This, is the new member." He simply said and showed her the paper.

It was apparently a photo of a boy around her age; he was kneeling down, his hand on his chin and posing for the camera. Marinette was about to give back his photo and tell him she still didn't get it, when it hit her.

Her eyes got wider and she held the photo closer to her eyes trying to examine every detail of it. She couldn't believe it. This boy, he looked exactly like her! He had bluish hair that was shorter than hers arriving just above his neck, his bangs were brushed to one side (similar to how hers were) revealing his eyes, they were big and round but a bit sharper than her own - she wondered if it was their natural shape or if it was due to the fact he was modeling and had to master a specific expression-, heck he looked like an exact replica of her, she resembled him or he resembled her -she didn't honestly know anymore-from head to toe, his skin, his hair, everything! The only difference was that her eyes were a bright blue while his were darker and almost grey. He gave her a sense of familiarity, like she knew him and had seen him before but she couldn't place it exactly, though she really wished she could remember because her mind was spiraling out of control now, as the crazy thoughts started accumulating:

How could this be possible? Why there was a male version of her? Was he a doppelganger, a stalker, a long lost twin, maybe a copy cat? Wait what if she was the copy cat!

The man chuckled and took the photo from her before she could burn it from how long and concentrated she's been starring at it; she turned to him, her eyes asking for a quick explanation.

"It's crazy I know! You can imagine how weird it felt when I saw you walking in looking like an exact copy of my client!" he gave her a look of amazement, "Ha! Can't blame me for my reaction now can you!" he bursted into a fit of proud laughs which made her a bit annoyed.

"Ok I get it, there's a boy that looks just like me, so what?" her question brought him out of his joy and he cleared his throat.

"This is Brian Alvarez, I met him a few years ago in one of my business trips. I remember it really well actually, how he sneaked in the room where many famous characters in the show business were having a small gathering, I think he was searching for a specific …"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but can you please cut to the chase, my time's almost up." The bluenette suddenly spoke while checking the watch on her wrist, she didn't mind listening to people's stories from their younger days or just from recent incidents and rather enjoyed it, but she needed to go home, her mom would start to get worried if she didn't show up or at least called.

"Ah! Right, my bad!" Plagg cleared his throat and replaced his nostalgic look with a serious one, "long story short, Brian was supposed to meet the 4Bs boys today and sign all the paper works today but something came up."

He looked hopefully at Marinette before continuing, "He's actually in a hospital in America right now." His face held a sad look and the bluenette gulped.

"Is he …OK?" she asked with a bit of concern and he nodded.

"Yes, some tests there and here, but….he won't be able to return in time."

"Oh…" Marinette was lost of words; she had a feeling of what he was trying to say, and based on his earlier words and the photo he showed her it was not good. However, she settled on not saying anything about it in hope she'd be wrong, "um, can't you reschedule the thing or something? I'm sure they will understand, it's not his fault if he's sick."

"See this is the problem," he sighed in a desperate manner, "this meeting had already been rescheduled a few times now with my boy frequenting the hospital lately. The boss and the band in general are getting impatient saying that I might be making the whole thing up; since I was the one who jumped in saying I had the perfect new member. So if I want any chance to recruit this boy then he better shows up today or they'll search for someone else on their own."

Marinette took a moment to consider his words, not exactly sure what to say or how to respond; when suddenly the man turned her, his eyes hopeful and pleading with his hands clapping together.

"This is way out of character for me but….Please Ms Marinette, take Brian's place for today. You two look exactly like each other that I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be your half brother or something! No one would suspect it. It won't be for too long either; just a couple hours dressed as a boy; you would just greet Bob sign some paper and done! You would also have the chance to meet 4Bs and talk to them personally, a chance that any girl would kill for, right!" he smiled widely while still looking at her.

Marinette stiffened, his whole speech sinking in before she shook her head and regained her composure, she stood up and turned to him, a stern expression gracing her face.

"First of all, I'm sure I don't have any siblings OR half brothers" she crossed her hands defensively, _"well not that I know about anyways"_ she added in her head and made a quick mental not to casually ask her mother later, "Secondly, what do you mean 'a chance to kill for'? Not all girls are crazy about 4Bs nor they are some sort of psychopath that would go that far for their favorite artists you know? And for your information I'm not a fan of them either, heck I didn't even know who these boys were until this morning so I'm pretty sure I don't have any interests in meeting any of them," she rolled her eyes remembering the previous incident. if she was completely honest though; the cheerful blond and the highlights dude seemed pretty nice and she could see herself enjoying talking to them unlike the other two -they basically saved her back there, but now she wished they didn't, things would be much better if she had returned home-, however it still didn't change the fact that they were celebrities and she didn't know anything about them, they may be faking the entire thing for all she knows, just to be more lovable and gain more popularity.

"And finally, are you out of your mind! I can't just simply change my gender and pretend to be someone else I don't even know and risk it all like that! I'm sorry but I can't, so the answer is no."

she looked away a bit, trying to both collect her cool and fight the feeling of sorrow she would be feeling any moment now, she knew her words were a bit rude and sassy but she's done letting others stomp on her and tell her what to do, and while her kind nature would sure kick in trying to make her consider her decision; she couldn't allow it, what this man asked was way beyond an average favor; especially for someone she had only met, there was no way a sane person would say yes, call her mean or afraid but she wasn't going to do it, nope. There were too many ways for this little trick to go wrong, she could even be accused of Impersonation and fraudulence, getting herself arrested in the process (she had to remember she was an adult now after all), she sure didn't want to go to prison when her mother needed her with her.

She was about to excuse herself and leave; when Plagg quickly got on his knees pleading her, his eyes on the verge of tears, and his hand still clapping in front of him.

"Please I'll be doomed as well! They will fire me for sure and I have my lazy butt to take care of!" Marinette groaned at his weird words, "trust me I guarantee nothing bad will happen to you, I'll take full responsibility!" she gave him a skeptical look and he finally stood up, he sighed and wiped the tears in the corner of his eyes.

"I made it sound like it's all about me but it isn't" he met her eyes, giving her a more serious and genuinely concerned look, "please do it for Brian, the boy has nothing to do with all of this, he worked so hard to get here, he waited for years for this chance, leaving his family and everything behind just to fulfill this single dream of his, he's not doing it for his self only but for his family as well so he can support them along with other reasons that I was too damn egoistic and lazy to hear them!" he lowered his head in shame, "it's my fault, all of this… I was the one who kept pushing him to continue following his dream, making him work harder and harder, I promised him he'll get this spot and here I am letting him down, he'll be so broken when I tell him to go back home and that it's all over."

Marinette felt her heart ache; she couldn't do this but what if…no! She can't! It will only get her in more trouble, even if it's only for a short while, she really wanted to help him; really, but the entire idea was wrong, it was basically lying, and she hated liars and lying so much.

She bit her lips and shook her head, "I'm really sorry but I can't."

"you have dreams too, right Ms?" he asked in a bit of a creepy way and her eyes widened, "you're just his age, I bet you have many plans for your future and all but…" he shifted his gaze to her again, "what would you do if it all crashed down in front of you? put yourself in his place, how would you feel if you're only a few feet away from something you've wanted your entire life yet you can't have it and it's not even your fault! You would be happy if someone came along and offered to save it all by just one simple gesture, wouldn't you? You're a kind girl Ms Marinette; I can feel it, so for the last time please save this boy's dreams!"

Again, for what felt like a hundred time this day, Marinette was lost, she didn't know what to say, how to react or even how to think! She honestly knew what this boy must feel like, she had a dream just like his; that she worked hard for it her entire life, only to be met with the fact that it may not be possible after all, and yes just like he said her perfect happy future was took away from her the moment she received that call informing her that her father is in the hospital, no one was able to make her truly happy back then or even now.

And even if she managed to become a fashion designer, it wouldn't be the same, the voice that always called her my "little talented designer" would always be missing from her future, and he won't be able to see it. So would it be that bad if she could prevent that sad feeling that she often felt; to break someone else's heart? The method felt so wrong yet so right to do at the same time.

She took a deep breath fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes, _"stop being selfish, you're making a huge deal out of nothing!"_ she told herself, _"this man and this boy need your help, didn't Papa always asked you to help those in need even if they didn't seek it? It's just for a couple of hours, you would be in and out in no time, no one would suspect it and this boy would keep his career and future together!"_ she looked up at him a determined look on her face, she didn't know if this was the wrong choice or not but she's going to help him, she could curse her kind nature later but right now she will just take action and 'live in the moment'.

"I'll do it," she said in a quiet and hesitated tone.

"w-what?!" the man asked in disbelief like he was expecting her to refuse or just storm away already saying it wasn't her problem, "really?! You will do it!"

She nodded and he quickly crushed her in a hug, Marinette felt awkward and tried to break herself free from the hug, his stinky smell making it even worse "l-let me go before I change my mind!"

He backed away as soon as he launched at her and gave her a big grin, " look I said yes but it will only be for a few hours, nothing past 3 hours ok?" he nodded eagerly, "and you better know what you're doing cause' if anything happens it's on you, I don't want to go to jail! And don't even think about throwing it all on me if something goes wrong, I have strong evidences against you sir!."

She fished her phone from the pocket of her dress, revealing that she had been recording this whole time.

"You've recorded everything?" he asked in shock, but it was clear he wasn't upset or frightened by the idea just curious.

"Duh? I wasn't sure what a complete a stranger would do to me especially when he blocked my way and stopped me from leaving. Gotta be careful you know." She shrugged like it was the most obvious thing and he found himself smirking a bit.

"You're smart; good. Now let's get going, we still have to find you a wig and some manly clothes." He grinned again and started walking to the car.

She was about to protest but decided against it, instead she sighed and said, "wait a sec I need to make a phone call."

"You're not calling the police or the Psychiatric hospital, are you?" he tensed and gave her a weird wide look, his gaze slightly drifting away as if reliving an unpleasant memory.

Marinette's eye twitched a bit. Just who the hell was this man?

"No. At least not yet, I'm just calling my mom so she won't be worried."

He nodded and grinned again, going back to his more laid back nature and motioned to her to go on, she sighed and turned back dialing Sabin's number before putting the device closer to her ear.

Unbeknown to her, the man behind her was doing a quick happy dance shouting silent 'yes! it worked !', he fished his own phone and tapped a message excitedly.

' _Brian it worked! I found you a replacement!'_

* * *

 **TILL WE MEET AGAIN, KEEP DREAMING MES PETITS PAPILLION!**


	3. Dressing-up

**Another chapter that's a bit late cauz I'm too lazy for my own good.**

 **Also for the sake of this story I'm portraying Marinette as a skinny girl with no curves and a bit thick voice or something so please bear with me.**

* * *

 _ **CupcakeLover1699**_ **: oh…Um yeah I don't have one honestly, every time I tries to put a schedule I fails so yeah (nervous laughs).**

 **.**

 ** _Jenny:_ lol yep it was inspired by a K-drama called **_**You're beautiful**_ **(the first one I ever watched!)**

 **.**

 **To everyone else who left a review thank you so much it means a lot even if I don't reply at each one of you individually!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 _Dressing-up_

Marinette walked lazily through the many sections of male clothes, sometimes contemplating a piece or two before shaking her head dismissing the idea and continuing with her way, she didn't know what exact style this Brian boy sported and didn't want to risk anything, so she opted to sit down at a nearby chair waiting for her companion to come back.

She sighed and messaged her temple in an attempt to relax and wash away her nervousness. She was emotionally and mentally tired, and she was starting to seriously question her decisions, did she really make the right choice? Maybe she should have walked out of it and ignored it, she could always run away now while Plagg was busy; and just learn to live with the cloud of guilt and concern that would definitely follow her after.

When she called her mother, the bluenette has managed to give her a half hearted excuse about having met an old friend from high school and wanting to catch up with them for the rest of the afternoon, Sabin-being the kind woman she was-had in fact insisted that Marinette to went; saying she was glad that her daughter was attempting to socialize more (considering that she didn't have many friends nor did she usually hang out with any), she added that it was completely fine and wished her a good time.

The acceptance Mari was faced with; made her sink in guilt, she hated liars and lying but most importantly she hated keeping secretes from her dear mother.

The phone call almost made her call off the whole deal; but Plagg was already at her feet pleading again and pointing to the fact that her mom would surely understand and would support her decision, Marinette had groaned knowing full well that her mother would indeed do just that, as long that her daughter agreed and it wouldn't put her in any potential danger; she would definitely agree, helping others was a must-follow rule in the Dupain-Cheng household after all.

With the task of informing her mother about her absence aside, another problem rose.

Plagg said that they were going to buy her appropriate clothes and add some 'touches' to her appearance, he had entered the car and got ready for the departure when he noticed that the girl didn't follow him, instead she marched to her own vehicle. She was in the middle of adjusting her helmet when he walked to her once more and demanded to only use his car as they would be back later for her scooter, Marinette of course refused to leave it.

A short argument later and he finally agreed, thus creating another issue: who would take the lead. Apparently Plagg didn't trust her enough to let her drive behind him and 'out of his sigh' in fear that she would run away (a statement that caused many eye rolls and frustrated mutters).

After many bumps (and wrong turns due to Plagg who sucks at giving the right directions) they finally arrived at their destination, a small clothing shop located in a quiet and a bit isolated street. Marinette decided that although the name was a bit cheesy and silly -really who would name their shop _Oh-La-la!_ It was so uncreative in her opinion- they had nice and affordable clothes (she made a mental note to check it out next time she went shopping).

That would bring them to the following situation, Marinette waiting impatiently with Plagg running across the store and tossing clothes everywhere.

"Alright try these!" he said while handing her his findings.

She looked at it critically before shrugging and getting up.

"Ah wait!" he stopped and handed her a white bandage, "you know… for…." He whispered and motioned to his chest.

Marinette surpassed the urge to slap him and opted for just giving him an irritated look and said, "you know since you mentioned it, how is this gonna work again?" he looked confused so she sighed and continued, "I may look like him but my hair is clearly longer, my eye color is kinda different and my voice is clearly the one of a girl even if it's not that soft."

She expected a panicked expression or something (she'd be lying if she said she didn't hope he would freak out and cancel the plan) instead he grinned mischievously.

"No worries, I got you covered. I already brought a wig and some Contact lenses" he answered in a smug tone and she raised an annoyed eyebrow, "plus Brian is somehow a late bloomer" he laughed as if he had made an inside joke, "really his body's not that well developed for a male and neither is yours so you both could pass as the opposite gender without any problems. Let alone the fact that his voice is too soft and girly for his age, makes me wonder if he really got through puberty like he claims."

Her left eye twitched and she took a deep breath before walking to the changing room. How dare he judge her body saying she wasn't feminine enough!

She looked at the mirror and pouted in annoyance, sure she was naturally short and skinny and couldn't gain weight even if she tried (causing her to have almost no curves), her breasts were also smaller than other girls her age but honestly who cared! Her appearance never bothered her before and she wasn't going to care about it because of some lazy man's remark, she loved her body and herself the way she was and like her mother said 'she still had a lot of time to grow perfectly' and even if it she didn't; well she wasn't that bothered about it, she would very much prefer stay like this rather than being loved for only her looks!

Without wasting another second she begun taking her clothes off, She carefully put the bandages on (she swore that if she suffered any health problems; she will sue this man.), moving on, she started wearing the rest of the clothes and items he gave her while trying her best to not shout at the man pacing in front of the changing room and asking if she was done every 5 seconds!

Finally she put on the last touch which was a short wig that had the same color as her hair, she ruffled it a bit trying to look as boyish as she could before topping it with a cap.

"So…How bad is it?" she asked while stepping out of the room.

"Holy…" he gasped and started circulating around her to take closer looks at her, she found herself flinching under his gaze and rubbed her arm trying to calm her nervousness, "it's….it's PERFECT!" he grinned while throwing his arms in the air, "it's like he's right in front of me!"

"I don't know, I feel silly" she added while staring at herself in the mirror.

"Nope, that's exactly how Brian would dress? Trust me".

"well he sure have a weird taste" she wasn't an expert in guys' clothes but she had designed a few herself and based on what her classmates and the boys she encountered in her life wore; well she considered this to be a bit weird and a too extreme.

Plagg told her they needed to make her look casual and cool, but she guessed that term had another meaning in the entertainment industry -she had to make more researches in order to understands the trends better, it was a necessity if she was to proceed in her dream career-.

She was wearing a white t-shirt with a sleeveless and ripped denim jacket, and although the shirt was quite simple; the jacket had too many designs and budges laying around in many different colors and she felt stupid wearing it. Her black jeans were also ripped but fitted her nicely the only problem was that it kept falling down. She tried matching the outfit with a pair of snickers she liked but Plagg insisted that she wore some kind of combat boots. What made her more uncomfortable were the many accessories: bracelets, rings, necklaces and this weird cap that had a jaguar-pattern on it.

All in all; she knew she could have made this outfit work _if_ she was actually _allowed_ to make some changes, but nooo she wasn't. Well fine it wasn't her problem anyway, it wasn't Marinette Dupain-Cheng that would be walking out of this door looking a complete disaster, it was Brian Alvarez; not her.

"Whatever, just get me a belt and I guess we're ready to go?" she said while adjusting her pants, again.

The man laughed a bit before waving his hand dismissively, "no way, using a belt would ruin the entire point of it! This is the trend kido, gotta learn to roll with it." He gave her a finger gun and marched to the cashier.

Marinette groaned in frustration as she held her original clothes in her hand and walked out of the store (and she considered herself to be very lucky since the shop was mostly empty and the cashier (who looked like he was done with all of this) didn't comment or even spare a glance to the boy who had walked in as a girl just a few minutes ago. So yes no one was there to question their actions and she was grateful for that).

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ok repeat it one more time!" The man demanded while pacing back and forth in front of her.

"Uh y-yes! I-I'll walk in, let you introduce me, shake some hands and let some smiles, sign the required papers, and get the hell out of there. Oh also I must decline any invitations of celebration and you'll make an excuse of me being in a hurry and having to attend some family matters, correct?" she gave a hopeful look while adjusting her cap.

"Yes perfect! And remember there's no need for you to say anything, I'll do all the talking!" she nodded and he took a deep breath.

Plagg and Marinette were seated in the large lobby doing their last rehearsal (well Marinette was sitting, Plagg was just too anxious and kept pacing around in the room).

"I don't know though, maybe we should go back and get the contacts?"

He shook his head and reassured her, "no need, we're running short on time and I can manage an excuse later if anyone notices or asks."

After successfully returning back to the agency and spending a good 30 minutes in the car discussing their plan, the two were finally ready to go. So the man handed her a small box and asked her to put the contacts on, however when she did it was revealed that Plagg had accidently brought the wrong color and now the bluenette's eyes were a dark shade of green. The mistake had caused a mini panic attack for the man but he quickly regained his composure and decided that they could do just fine without them as no one would notice much difference, Mari tried to protest but failed as he rushed her out of the car and into the building declaring that they were late.

"Alright let's do this! Just stay calm everything will be ok, if we stay calm no one will suspect anything right? Yeah I'm calm, you're calm, all of us are calm and drowning in CALMINESS!" he screamed as he panted, a bed of sweat rolling down his face as he took deep breathes.

Marinette urged the need to chuckle and point that the correct term was 'calmness', instead she stood up (and pulled her pants up) she gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, he sighed and nodded before heading to the elevator.

Once inside, Plagg pressed the third floor button and started mumbling under his breath, apparently trying to calm himself again but managing to not enter a crazy panicked state this time.

Mari found herself doing the same thing; taking deep breaths and pushing the feelings of guilt and fear aside. She knew very well that all of this was wrong but it was for a good purpose, she could save this boy's future and she was going to do it proudly, nothing bad will happen as long as she can just concentrate and push those negative feelings away. Who knows maybe if she didn't end up in jail then this experience could be helpful in the future. _"Right, like knowing how to dress-up as a boy would save my life one day"._

With a soft click the doors were open and after a few steps; they found themselves a few steps away from a big glass door and Plagg informed her that it was the meetings and conferences room where they'll be meeting with the owner of the company; along with his assistant and the company's trusted lawyer, _"good less people means less anxiety"_ she noted in her mind.

"You're ready?" he turned to her and gave her a serious look.

She frowned and held her stomach trying to ignore the puddle of different feelings inside, "why do I feel like I just took part in a murder and now we need to deceive the police if we want to survive and not be tossed in jail?"

The cat-like man laughed a bit and gave her a quick pat on the back, "tsk don't fret it's just a one time feeling you'll get used to it. Now just focus on the noble purpose we're doing this for; and you'll be alright!"

She gulped ignoring his first words and walked a few steps, she parted her shoulders so they would look wider and leaned back while taking big steps in an attempt look more masculine, it resulted in her tripping and almost falling down if Plagg hadn't caught her in time.

"Scratch that. Just focus on walking straight without falling and you'll be alright" she gave a sheepish grin and held two thumbs up trying to reassure him.

"Here goes nothing. Or everything. It depends really" he knocked lightly before pushing the door open, catching the attention of the men present inside.

"Ahh; Plagg, I was starting to think ya weren't comin' after all!"

* * *

 **TILL WE MEET AGAIN KEEP, DREAMING MES PETITS PAPILLIONS!**


	4. Audition

**Heyyyy, sorry for the long wait. I had some trouble back home and yeah things weren't that great and kind of lost motivation.**

 **Away from my personal problems, the song used in this chapter is a bit old but I just adore it, so check it out to get the mood and whatever.**

 **WARNING:** **swearing mostly done by Marinette, because she just want to get out of here.**

* * *

 _Audition_

"Ah Plagg, I was starting to think ya weren't comin' after all!" a strong male voice echoed in the room as the two figures entered.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Bob!" Plagg replied with a lazy grin, he took a quick glance to the girl behind him and gestured for her to follow him.

"I see you actually brought someone with ya this time." the man smirked and directed his attention to the small figure standing behind his friend.

"Yep." The cat like man answered proudly while patting Marinette on the back; causing her to move forward and stand beside him, "Bob this is Brian Alvarez, the boy I've been telling you about. Kid; meet Bob Roth, the owner, the CEO, the big boss, you name it! All you gotta know is that he's the head in charge here so better not get on his bad side!" although his statement was clearly meant to be a harmless joke, Marinette could still see the way Plagg was slightly sweat dropping and giving her a nervous look; as if to warn her that one simple mistake and they're screwed for sure.

She quietly gulped as the man, now known as Bob, let a loud laugh before extending his palm for a handshake; the girl hesitated a bit but extended her hand as well.

"It's nice to finally meet ya son, we were seriously startin' to think that Plagg had finally lost his mind and made some imaginary friends." Mr. Roth laughed again at his own joke before breaking the contact. "So I heard ya wanna join 4Bs?"The bluenette nodded eagerly, causing the man to continue in a more serious tone, "good. But I got to warn ya it's not a game, and even if you'll be here temporary; you still gotta take this seriously." He gestured to a young woman with long messy blue hair and crimson eyes.

She cleared her throat and hugged a black folder closer to her chest, "'Miraculous' is one of the biggest names in the showbiz, it has produced many famous stars and helped them exceed in their career, from solo artists to duos and bands, rock or pop, young and old, our agency made sure that all her clients rise to fame and score in the top charts. In other words Mr. Alvarez, 'Miraculous' will make sure to polish your talent to the maximum and offer you the best opportunities, however we don't take in lazy amateurs who take all this too easy or think that this job is a lame joke to gain personal popularity." She gave a sharp glance toward Plagg who just shrugged and rolled his eyes at her.

Marinette gulped hard, it felt like this woman was one of her teachers that were giving some history lesson while warning the students that it will be on your next exam so you better pay attention if you don't want to fail. Yep, high school was still affecting her.

"Ah yes. Thanks Duusu! Couldn't have said it better." Bob smiled at his assistance; who nodded and stepped aside; away from the three men. "So what do ya say kid?"

"No worries Bob! Brian understands completely what he's getting into," before the bluenette can open her mouth to stutter some sort of answer, Plagg jumped in to her rescue while slinging a hand around her shoulders, she couldn't be more grateful for that, "I assure you he'll take this job more seriously than I do and will certainly give his best, right Bri?" he turned to her with his signature grin and she nodded in affirmation. "So, do we have a deal or what?"

The man hummed in understanding while scratching his chin, "his resume is quite impressive." He stepped closer, his golden eyes scanning her as she stiffened in her place, "he's got a cute face, I'll give you that, it can easily match or surpass Adrien. Fans, especially girls, go crazy for soft guys these days." He stepped back and took a few papers that the woman known as Duusu had gave him. "theoretically speaking, he got what it takes to shine but what about' practically? We hadn't seen him in action yet. Hell, we didn't even hear his voice and the boy is joining a music band where you gotta sing and at least play one instrument!"

At this point, Marinette was completely frozen in place with a bead of sweat threatening to fall down her face at any given moment, her falling pants were long forgotten; as she clenched her fists in nervousness. _"Shit, this is going south way too fast!"_ she thought while briefly looking at her companion. She could easily tell that he was as tense and terrified as her, even with the calm facade he was trying to maintain.

"To be honest with ya kid, I would've refused right away and probably scheduled ya to an audition with everyone else, once all of this is made official." Bob crossed his arms and sighed as Duusu smirked with pride, her 'ha-I-won-bitch!' face mainly directed at Plagg.

"But…" he grinned a bit before continuing, "I'll trust ya this time Plagg, and give this boy a chance!"

"What!" both her companion and the woman shouted in union as Mari gasped at the man's words.

"B-but sir, w-we can't g…" the elder female started while fumbling with the papers in her hands but was quickly cut off by her boss shaking a finger in her directions.

"No buts, I already made my decision. Though one mistake and you two are out! Am I clear?" both Plagg and 'Brian' nodded eagerly as Bob's expression morphed into a more happy one. "Alright! Time is money so let us waste no more and sign those damn contracts already!"

He walked down to the long round table and took a seat while gesturing to the lawyer (who kept silent this whole time and only observing the exchange) to take out the necessary documents. The crimson-eyed woman groaned slightly before stomping away to stand behind her boss.

"See kid, I told you it'll be a piece of cake?" Plagg whispered while giving a quick wink.

"Yeah, sure." She responded with a bit of sarcasm as she nervously glanced at the woman. The man noticed and nudged her slightly while giving a reassuring grin.

"Don't worry about Duusu, she may look all mighty and angry; but she's just a big drama queen who cries for not having her morning coffee." Marinette couldn't help but chuckle at his statement before making her way to the table as well.

* * *

A good 20 minutes later and they were finally done. They could've taken less if Plagg didn't insist on reading every paper carefully while casting suspicious glances to Bob (said man only shrugged and gave sheepish grins while muttering words about her companion being too paranoid.). Marinette on the other hand; just waited patiently and only signed the papers after her friend deemed them safe, (she was also very thankful that Brian's signature -as Plagg had showed her earlier in the car- consisted of a simple scribbling of his last name, it was easy enough that a clumsy person like herself could pull it off without a problem, but she still stayed cautious as not to slip and scribble her own signature.)

"And all done!" Bob exclaimed as Marinette handed him the last paper. She sighed in both relief and satisfaction, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to burst out of the door this instant and run away to the comfort of her home.

The man signed as well before returning it to the lawyer with a short nod "congrats Brian, you're officially a member of 4Bs!" he stood up while offering a hand shake, Marinette quickly did the same while giving a happy smile.

"Now that's off the way, what do ya say about having dinner to celebrate?"

"Sorry no can do, you see…" the cat-like man begun but was immediately interrupted by Bob.

"Give the kid some slack! Let's hear what _he_ has to say for once!" he frowned a bit while looking at his new client.

"Uhm, s-sorry sir, but I have some family matters that I-I gotta attend to," she mentally gave herself a pat on the back for not stuttering too much, and hoped that her impression of the so called-male-version-of-her- wasn't that far from the original. "Maybe next time?"

"Shame, I was planin' to introduce ya to the gang, guess it can't be helped. Though it's good to know you can speak, I was startin' to think you were mute for a sec there!" He laughed and the girl chuckled uncomfortably.

"Well, we'll see you next week and I'll swing by later to discuss Bri's staying, debut and all that shit," the green eyed male got up and started stretching his limbs, Marinette was already walking toward the door in a slow pace, hoping her companion would just hurry up and get her out of here.

"Pleasure doing business…"

"Mr. Roth we need to talk." A sudden voice spoke, announcing his presence to the others.

His outfit may have changed to a somehow more casual look, but Marinette hadn't found any difficulties in recognizing that cold icy stare.

" _Shit, shit, shit! This is bad!"_ the bluenette cursed under her breath as she tried to look away from the new figure, _"relax Marinette, it's not like he saw you the first time! Just act cool and try to ignore him, if you don't see them; they can't see you either!"_ she took deep breaths and bit the inside of her lip in an attempt to try and not draw too much attention. Key word: try.

Unbeknown to her, the blond male was starring right at her, scanning her from top to bottom with a solemn expression on his face.

"Félix! You came just in time!" Bob grinned happily as he walked toward the perplexed girl. He swung an arm around her shoulder and dragged her closer to Félix. "This is Brian Alvarez you're new teammate! Say hi kid!"

He gave her a light slap on the back causing her to flinch. "Are the others here? I was goin' to introduce him later this week but guess there's no time like the present, right?"

"So that's him, the self proclaimed 'angel voice'." He narrowed his eyes and bent down a bit to her level and started examining her features with a critical gaze.

Meanwhile Marinette had the most stupid smile plastered in her face, she furrowed her eyebrows and her eyes darted everyway except from the boy's face. _"Goddammit Plagg! Do something!"_

"Ah, so you _did_ read those document I forwarded to ya, huh?" Bob smirked completely unaware of the tension surrounding him.

"Heh, you think you're that good?" the blond asked in an irritated voice before standing properly, "I don't care about those damned contracts or resume. I need to check for myself."

"W-w-wha…?!" before anyone could have the chance to say anything. Félix had gripped her wrist and started dragging her out of the room.

"H-hey what do you think you're doing Agreste!" Plagg shouted already heading after him, "get back here!"

"Félix!" Bob started as well with his assistance hot on his heels.

"L-let go!" Marinette struggled against his grip trying to free herself with no avail. Despite his skinny appearance, this boy was sure strong.

"Whoa!" she almost fell when he dragged her downstairs but managed to stay steady. _"Think Marinette! How to get out of this?"_ She gritted her teeth in frustration and turned around only to find Plagg and others speed walking behind her. She gulped hard and tried to shake her hand free again. "Are you deaf or something? I told you to get the hell away for me!"

"Stop it, we're here." Félix, who had been silent and ignoring her this whole time, finally spoke as they entered what seemed like a recording studio. The two men present in the control room only gave them curious looks.

The blond male wasted no time in tossing her in the recording booth, causing her to stumble and almost fall face first if it weren't for the two arms that caught her.

"Oh, you must be Brian, right?" a smooth familiar voice asked, and Marinette quickly looked up and jumped away from the aqua eyed male.

"Huh, you're shorter than I thought…" another figure spoke from behind her, and Mari didn't need to look twice as she recognized him. "I think you're even shorter than Nate." He held his palm and tried to compare their high.

"You're freaking him out Adrien." The boy with blue highlights sighed and stood up from his seat.

"Ma-Brian!" she shifted her attention to the glass door, Plagg was screaming at her, one hand knocking furiously and the other one trying to unlock the door.

"Dammit Félix! Open the door!" Bob shouted as well but was simply ignored causing him to turn to one of the men in the recording room and ordering them to go get the spare keys.

The bluenette gulped and tried to move toward the glass but was stopped by no other than her captor.

"Where do you think you're going?" he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, Marinette had to surpass the urge to push him aside and tell him to fuck off, she was really tired of people dragging her in their own problems, literally and figuratively.

"You're not leaving, not until I or rather _We_ deem you worth it." He tossed her a microphone and she barely caught it, "sing." He ordered.

"What?" she whispered in disbelief while looking at the microphone like it was some foreign creature that she was seeing for the first time in her life.

"I said sing. Anything that comes to your mind, just sing it."

She furrowed her brows and turned to the other two boys. The one who she assumed was named Adrien only shrugged his shoulders, the other one gave her a sympathetic smile with an amused glance.

"I need to listen to your voice to see if we will accept you or not. If we don't or if you simply refuse to do it altogether, then you would be automatically considered a failure and be disqualified and fired from the band." Her eyes widened in fear as she tried to think of an excuse or anything to say really, but he quickly spoke up again, "I told you I don't care about the contract or what either Plagg or Bob think of you. If you can't prove you deserve this position, then I suggest you just leave with no return and stop wasting everyone's time."

She glanced at the door hoping to seek some guidance or help from -Mr. I'll take care of everything don't worry- only to find him gripping at his hair like a maniac and screaming at Bob to do something, said man ignored him and focused on her instead as if he wanted to see what she'll do as well.

" _Yep, we are fucked."_

She closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the microphone, trying to think of a solution. There was no way she could do it, she wasn't supposed to do it, it wasn't on the job description so why should she be forced to. She could just refuse and get the hell out of here, after all the deal was just to sign some papers, Plagg didn't say anything about an audition, she had kept her end of the deal and it's not her problem that something like this came up! Brian would have another chance if she declined right? _"Mr. Roth said something about auditions, so he can always come back with the other candidates and try his luck next time! It will be better than me humiliating him."_

" _Either that or maybe you can…"_ she shook her head dismissing the idea that was about to form in her mind. There was no way in hell she would actually sing, nope, not happening, especially not in front of complete strangers who are considered experts in this.

"Hey." She opened her eyes and shifted her attention to the boy with the highlights, "You know, Bob has spoken highly of you, so I'm kind of curious about your talent too." He gave her a closed-eyes smile and a pat on the back.

"Yeah! I heard you have an angelic voice too!" Adrien beamed at her and she swore that his grin was as bright as the sun, "don't be shy and let us hear you please!"

She was really grateful for this two boys, they were so considerate and actually tried to be nice and welcoming, unlike some bastard who dragged here like she was his personal pet or something.

"We don't have all day, hurry up." Ah, speak of the devil.

But still, she couldn't sing. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't. Well more like she wouldn't, she wouldn't let herself do it.

See, here are some facts about Marinette Dupain-Cheng:

She hated singing, no not only that, she hated every kind of performances in general. It all started back in 5th grade, and long story short; due to some unfortunate events, Marinette has now stage fright. It wasn't anything massive, but she still preferred to not stand in front of a crowd or relive that experience, causing her to turn down every school play and the likes, even if her classmates and teachers insisted that she participated, it was just a red line. The crowd surrounding her now was nothing big, but they were still considered strangers; and famous, rich, talented, hot, strangers at that!

Her signing sucks. Ok maybe she's exaggerating, her voice wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good enough to probably be compared to Brian's or the others' voices. Her mom and the few of her classmates that had accidently heard her signing; said that it was really beautiful and that she should be proud of it and show her talent more but she absolutely disagreed. Her talent was designing and making clothes people! Signing was just something she would occasionally do in the safety of her bedroom or in the shower, not demonstrating it in front of professional people! Plus her voice would most likely be different from Brian's and she would only cause him trouble later on.

" _Still if I don't do anything then it's all over for him."_ The only reason she agreed to do this was to save someone's dream, she wanted to help him achieve his goal, she wanted him to have the chance that she couldn't have.

" _ **What would you do if it all crashed down in front of you…" "You would be happy if someone came along and offered to save it all by just one simple gesture, wouldn't you…"**_ Plagg's words from that morning echoed in her mind and she found her heart clenching in sorrow, _ **"please save this boy's dreams!"**_

" _And that's exactly what I'm going to do."_

She knew she would most likely fuck the whole thing up, but she was still ready to try and fight for this boy. Even if she didn't succeed, then she would at least rest in peace without the regret and the cursed 'what if…' hunting her for the rest of her life.

" _It doesn't matter if you succeeded or scored first place sweetie, all that matters is that you did your best. And trust me, as long as you give it you're all, then something good is bound to happen even if it seems impossible."_ Those were the words that her father always told her whenever she would fail at some competition or just be frustrated for a design that didn't meet her expectations. Those words were quite simple back then, but she still held dearly to them, making it a necessity to always give her all, and that's exactly what she was going to do. She may be no singer, but she will still give her best, for herself, for Brian, and for her dad.

She took a few extra moments to think of an appropriate song, (Jagged Stone's song were too much for her poor vocal cords, she didn't feel like signing a happy pop song either; because the atmosphere was too tense and gloomy and she didn't want to make a foul of herself.) in the end she chose one that could be considered sad, but she loved it nonetheless and felt like it described her state and what she felt most of the time.

She took a deep breath and held the mic closer to her, she ignored the muffled 'finally' that the blond had said and instead tried to concentrate, imagining that it was only her in her small bedroom, holding her brush and signing to one of her dolls. And it worked perfectly.

.

.

 **[Antidote by Faith Marie]:**

 **Finding refuge in my own lies**

 **"How are you"**

 **"I'm doing alright"**

 **Small talk is a great disguise**

 **Just let me be just let me be**

Saying Plagg was shocked was an understatement. The man had felt like his soul was brought back to him, he thanked every star, every god, every deity that was out there that this girl could sing, it wasn't like Brian's but it was indeed similar enough and dare he says, her voice was truly an angelic one. Just behind him, Bob had stopped his employee from opening the door and was now listening carefully, he turned to Duusu and gave her a sharp approving nod, said woman only sighed in defeat once more.

 **Empty thoughts start to crowd my mind**

 **Am I only living, living to survive?**

 **Shake it off but I've lost the drive**

 **Just let me be just let me be**

 **Let me be, okay**

Meanwhile, Félix eyed the boy with a critical eye and a neutral gaze; his two friends on the other hand, were rather enjoying it.

Adrien nodded his head to the beat, impressive by Brian's signing, while Luka closed his eyes and hummed in satisfaction, he smiled before motioning to the piano that was placed in the room along with the rest of the instruments. The green eyed blond took this as his signal to start playing an accompanying melody that suited the song.

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **There's a new kind of poison and it's starting to spread**

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **They don't think I need help**

 **But I'm scaring myself**

 **I just want to be ok**

 **I just want to be ok**

Félix wouldn't voice his thoughts out loud, but he found this boy's voice shocking? Satisfying? No the suitable word was acceptable. It was far from perfect and a bit too feminine (even though the resume said that his voice was soft and a bit girlish), he personally thought that a famous band such as themselves could probably do better, but then again he did listen to some clips sent by amateur singers who wanted to join the agency, and honestly speaking, Brian was fairly better than most of them.

Still Félix didn't like this boy one bit, something was off, something in his gut told him to not let himself be fooled by the bluenette. And no, he was absolutely sure that it had nothing to do with the fact that a complete stranger was going to intrude on their small group and replace one of the few people he considered as a tolerable friend, nope it definitely wasn't that.

 **All the voices in my head are coming to life**

 **They're getting louder and I'm terrified**

 **How do you run from your own mind?**

 **Is this what I've become?**

 **Take it back what have I done**

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **There's a new kind of poison and it's starting to spread**

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **They don't think I need help**

 **But I'm scaring myself**

 **I just want to be ok**

 **I just want to be ok**

" _You're doing great Marinette, just a little bit more!"_ Plagg secretly cheered as he wiped the sweat that covered his face.

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **There is a new kind of poison and starting to spread**

 **But I didn't think the antidote was in my hands**

 **I can change my plans I can change my plans**

 **I tried to find my reflection on the glass**

 **But all I ever saw were the things I lacked**

 **All the smudges on the mirror made me go insane**

 **All I ever thought I was**

 **Was a mistake**

"Wow! Are you sure it's a boy who's signing this?" one of the males who were in the control room whispered to his friend.

"Yeah, I guess so." The other one responded in aw, "I heard it's the new recruit who will take Nathaniel's place, he was actually recommended by Plagg."

"To think that old lazy dude could find such a talent, heh."

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **There's a new kind of poison and it's starting to spread**

 **No one knows what goes on up inside my head**

 **Up inside my head**

 **Up inside my head**

The bluenette let out a deep breath before opening her eyes, she kept her gaze to the ground, too scared to look at any of the others' expressions. _"_ _I hope it wasn't that bad! please let it be good enough for that stuck up blondie!"_

"Brian!" Plagg bursted through door as soon as it was opened, "That. Was. Amazing." He leaned on her and panted trying to catch his breaths. One would think he just ran a marathon from all the sweat and heavy breaths.

"Gotta admit Plagg, ya do know how to pick 'em!" Bob smiled from the doorway before turning to the boys, "isn't that right boys!" the question was mostly directed at the blond boy who had a deep frown on his face.

Félix took a good look at the bluenette, before letting a dry; unamused chuckle and storming out of the room. _"What's his problem"_ she rolled her eyes at him remembering the incident from this morning, it seemed that this Félix guy acted cold and bitchy to everyone, _"yeah, well now I know I'll never be one of his fans for sure."_

"Don't worry, it means he accepts you in his own aloof way." the cat-like male added while giving a proud smirk.

"What about ya two, Luka you're the one with the 'musical vision', what do ya think?"

"Well, it's good and I think you'd be a great addition to the team. Félix seems to acknowledge you as well; so welcome to the band Brian." He gave her a pat on the head and a sincere smile, Adrien gave her a big thumps up as well while she smiled awkwardly.

.

" _Good. I think I'm gonna faint now, or puke, maybe both."_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Plagg stood patiently outside the dressing room, waiting for the girl to finish up.

After everything was settled up, the two made their way out of the agency and drove back to 'Oh-la-la!' so Marinette can change her clothes safely, ( the same cashier from earlier had welcomed them with a bored expression and a dry "we don't have a returning policy, sorry." Plagg was too happy to argue and brushed it away saying he will take the clothes anyway, and give them to Brian as a congratulation gift.)

The entire trip was filled with 'thank you' and 'we're saved' with the man retelling all the audition with a lot of exaggerations, he also kept asking her questions like 'where did you learn to sing like that' and 'why hadn't you told me you could sing', Marinette didn't honestly know herself and she started regretting ever showing her skill in the first place, however she couldn't help but feel happy and proud for not only accomplishing their original goal but for also facing her fear, as a personal reward; she promised she would swing by the store and get herself a big pot of Ice cream.

"And, done!" the half Chinese girl exclaimed as she walked out of the room, she sighed as she smoothed down her pink dress, happy that she was back in the comfort of her own clothes. She handed him the previous outfit and they started heading for the exit.

"I would say it went pretty smooth, what a great experience, huh?" the man asked while leaning on his car.

"Sure if you can call almost getting caught and arrested , jeopardizing every chance that boy had, making enemies with the band leader and finally me puking in your car; a 'great experience' then yeah, I totally learned something." She chuckled humorlessly and put her helmet on.

"Oh and what did you learn?"

"To never do deliveries for a lazy cat lunatic who works for a famous talent agency." She deadpanned half serious.

Plagg laughed a bit, before letting a deep sigh regaining his composure, "but seriously, thanks kid, you really saved our asses there, I'm forever in your debt.", he gave a small curtsy bow and continued, "you can count on me for being a regular at your bakery from now on, you also freaked out when we saw Jagged Stone on the way out; are you a fan? If so I can get you an autograph or a private meet and greet with him, you can also call me or come see me if you ever need anything, just tell them my name and…"

"really Mr. Plagg it's nothing and you're welcome," she cut him off, being too tired to stay here any longer (although she would probably take him on for that Jagged Stone offer, or perhaps ask him if he can get her a job at the agency in the near future….well it can wait, because all she wanted to do now was go home, take a shower, and maybe marry her bed.)

She got on her scooter and turned it on before looking at the male again, "wish Brian good luck for me, and tell him to never give up on his dream and to keep fighting no matter what. I'll be cheering for him!"

Plagg only nodded as the girl started to fade in the busy Parisian streets. He smiled to himself and got in his vehicle as well.

.

Just as he was about to drive off, his phone started ringing, he fished it up from his pocket and grinned when he saw the caller's ID.

"Well if it isn't the man of the hour! I got great news for you buddy."

.

 _{Yeah? Well I got terrible news for you.}_ Plagg raised an eyebrow at the angry and irritated voice coming from the other end of the call, but decided to deliver what he had to say first in hope that it will lighten up the other boy's mood.

.

"What're you talking about Bri? The plan worked and no one suspected that it wasn't you; they were even impressed when she sang and deemed her, which means you, worthy to be in the band! Everything is perfect we just need you to come back in two days and…" for the third time that day, (or maybe fourth? Seriously people keep cutting him off so often that he became used to it by now.), he was cut off before he can complete his sentence.

.

.

 _{News flash, everything is NOT perfect old man! We're fucked, all because of you and your genius half assed plans!}_

* * *

 **TILL WE MEET AGAIN, KEEP DREAMING MES PETITS PAPILLIONS!**


	5. A second encounter

**Hey everyone! so the cover for the story was made by me! (even though I'm a crappy artist -_-) and I kinda cringed when I saw how young I made the characters look like even though they're 19 and older so yep sorry about that.**

 **You can check out the drawing or ask me anything on my tumblr if you want, the link is in my bio or just search my name 'TomaDoula'.**

* * *

A second encounter

 **16:15 Dupain-Cheng resident.**

"and I think I need a break !" the bluenette yawned while stretching her arms and leaning back in her chair.

A week has passed since her fateful encounter with that crazy cat-like lunatic, a week since she broke every self rule she had put for herself and impersonated a soon to be famous singer, a week since she saved someone's dream, and she was low-key happy and proud of herself. To be honest, the complete experience felt kind of surreal for her, and she wouldn't have imagined ever doing something like that (and would never do it again for the matter.), nonetheless, all that crazy stuff had inspired her to work harder and aim to achieve her own dream as well, she was ready to give it a shot, and that's why she's been working on her own resume in hope to get a scholarship to the fashion college.

She fished her phone and started scrolling through some pages, "hmm, still nothing." She murmured with a small pout gracing her features.

If one was to check on her search history; then they would find a hoard of articles and web sites that specializes in releasing the latest news about 4Bs, news about the new member; to be more precise. But can you blame her? Marinette wanted to know if her effort had paid off; sure, but most importantly she wanted to see her so called male version in action, she was curious and kind of wanted to meet him and learn more about him, his personality, his hobbies, his family…It was a bit creepy and stalker-ish but she believed she had every right to- And honestly she couldn't bring herself to ask her mother about a possible sibling or anything like that, it was just an uncomfortable topic that she would rather avoid-.

"Marinette are you busy?" her mom suddenly popped out from the trap door and Marinette had to take a moment to regain her composure and calm her beating heart, she hated when her mother surprised her like that.

"Nah, just trying to make myself sound more talented and desirable as a scholarship student." She motioned to her desk before getting up and heading out of her room.

"Don't say that! You are talented and amazing sweetie, and I'm not saying that just because I'm your mom, it's only the truth!" She held a scolding finger while the bluenette chuckled and let a small 'thanks', "but I think the meeting with your friend went very well, huh?"

She tensed a bit seeing that her mother hadn't really spoken of the subject back then, but decided to play it cool anyways, "what m-made you think that?"

Sabin gave her daughter a big smile and continued, "You just seem more lively and happier, you've been working hard ever since you came back too! It's like the old you, the one who wanted to pursue her dreams no matter what…"

"Yeah I guess…" the atmosphere was getting heavy and the sad smile and distant look on Sabin's face only urged Marinette to hurry up and lighten the mood, "so did you need anything?"

"Ah yes! Did you change your mind? About Nadja's housewarming party, I mean?"

"No, I'm good." She gave an awkward smile and shook her head. She knew the party will most likely be her; surrounded by older women whose favorite topic was her life choices, you know the usual: "what do you plan for the future?" "Do you have a job yet?" "Any special someone in your life?" "You should start thinking about marriage and children!" "I have a son just your age and you're just perfect for each other!"….and the list goes on, she could already see herself getting both tired and embarrassed, which will lead her to go play with little Manon and her friends -which she didn't really mind, since she's used to babysitting the younger girl since she was five years old, but she wasn't in the mood to any…socializing honestly-.

"You can go without me mom." She gave happy smile and turned around, ready to go back to her room.

"In that case can you please watch over the bakery for me? Nothing serious, just run the front desk for half an hour or so, that's when Amy should be back." Marinette sighed a little but attempted to give her best cheerful expression as she reassured her mother that she would take care of everything.

* * *

 **16:48 Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.**

"That would be 3€, madam." The bluenette said happily while handing the woman a paper bag, she took it and paid for her croissants before departing, waving a hand at Marinette, "thanks for buying from our bakery, come back again!"

"Another customer done.", she hummed and picked up her pencil, returning to her usual sketching. The work at the bakery was kind of slow, so Marinette took the chance to unleash her creativity and add more designs to her new sketchbook.

The little bell suddenly rang, indicating that someone had walked through the door. The half Chinese girl sighed and closed her sketchbook; directing her attention to the new comer.

"Welcome to Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, how can I…wait…Mr. Plagg?!" Of all the people living in Paris, Marinette did not expect (nor was she pleased) the cat-like man to show up anytime soon in her life. She blinked her eyes again, trying to take a better look at the man; just to be sure.

And indeed it was him, if it wasn't his disheveled hair, or the same dirty clothes he wore a week ago, then the huge grin he casted her way definitely gave it all up. The bluenette found herself gulping hard, she had a bad twisted feeling in her gut about this, but she just hoped that Plagg only came here to get some pastries like he had promised before and nothing else that involved any more scamming.

"Yep! The one and only!" he took off his sunglasses and winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes in disgust.

"So what can I get you?" she raised an eyebrow at how sweaty he was and sighed in frustration, the man was smiling awkwardly and his eyes held a nervous look, " this isn't about food, is it?" he shook his head and she sighed again while messaging her temples, "I know I'll regret this again but, why did you come here Mr. Plagg?"

"Just to chat!" he grinned sheepishly and she gave him the 'You-know-I-don't-believe-his-shit-right?' look, to which he let a desperate breath and continued, "It's a long story, and it'd be better if we talked somewhere else." He casted a dirty glance to the girl behind him that was admiring the displayed treats.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm busy." He was about to say something but she quickly raised a hand to stop him, "and before you ask, no I can't just ditch it even if it's for a while."

He groaned in annoyance and disappointment but tried to remain cool as he placed his black glasses back, "fine, how long it will take?"

"Half an hour. Maybe more."

"Alright I'll just wait." He leaned back on the counter and took a lollipop from the jar that was supposedly meant for the little kids that visited the bakery.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. You're scaring the costumers Mr. Plagg." She motioned to the little girl that kept giving him suspicious glances, "so I'll have to kindly ask you to leave. Immediately."

Although she had a sweet (creepy) smile on her face, her menacing tone and dark eyes leaved no room for arguments, and Plagg knew better than to piss off a woman who was in a bad mood and has obtainable and dangerous kitchen utensils at hand, -he had his fair share of romantic relationships and he basically worked with two maniac women-.

"I'll just take a stroll around or something, but you better not escape! I know where you live!" that sounded really creepy.

With a final huff, the green eyed male finally left with the candy still in his mouth, meanwhile Marinette tried to calm the previous girl that kept shouting and insisting that she saw that man on TV before, "Dammit! Nothing goes right when that man is involved!"

* * *

"Please get a hint." Exactly 45 minutes later (she knew because she had impatiently counted each minute herself.), Marinette had regretted ever asking Plagg to leave. You see when he said he would take a walk around, she didn't expect him to come back every ten minutes or so to 'check on her'.

Oh and that's not even the worst part, you see; whenever he came back, he wouldn't enter the shop and ask if she was done like any annoying civilized person would do, oh no; he was the creepy annoying type that would stick their face against the glass and keep staring at the people inside (with angry; threatening glances), his black sunglasses -and attire in general- only made him more suspicious and menacing, which caused; you guessed it! Terrified customers and an irritated Marinette, who was done with all this shit and was ready to call the police.

"Miss, there's a scary man outside your bakery!"

"Yes, I know p-please don't worry about it, hehehe"

"Honey I don't want to scare you but I think there's a thug that's stalking you, do you want me to help?"

"Thank you mam, I'm aware of that and there's no need."

"Are you sure? My husband is in the police he can take care of it, you don't need to be afraid of this criminal!"

"H-he's not a criminal; he is just a very sensitive and odd friend of m-mine, that's all!"

The worst part of these awkward conversations was the fact that the customers hardly believed her lame excuses and thought she was being threatened, Plagg didn't seem to notice anything either or show and kind of understanding of what was going on with her, so instead he just kept his stance.

At this point; Marinette was fed with everything, so when Amy walked through the door waltzing like the queen she was, the bluenette wasted no time and took off her apron, ready to go out and give that man a piece of her mind.

"Why the rush?" Amy joked while tying her golden locks into a messy bun, "I know I'm a bit late, but I didn't think you hated working in the bakery this much."

"It's not that, I just have some stuff I need to take care of" the bluenette replied while walking to the door.

"Ah, just so you know, there's a creepy man circling the area, so be careful ok?"

"I know." She was met with a dead tone and a dark expression which caused the older girl to get a bit concerned.

"Should I be worried? Or maybe prevent you from going out?" she asked half jokingly but regained a serious expression when the girl didn't respond and only looked at her weirdly like she was contemplating the idea and rethinking her decision. Amy hummed in understanding before grabbing her bag and fishing a black and red bottle.

"Take this, and don't be afraid of using it, as a fellow girl and dating expert I can guarantee that it's efficient. Also if you don't come back in an hour and don't respond to my texts, then I'll call the cops." The bluenette took the bottle and read the label.

"Pepper spray? What do I do with it?" Amy quickly took Mari's hands and gave her a passionate yet serious look.

"Listen carefully Marinette. It's time to have a talk -and no, not that kind of talk-, from a woman to woman, a friend to friend, a fellow college student to her boss's daughter soon to be…"

"I get it Amy, please continue, I'm in a hurry."

The hazel eyed female cleared her throat and spoke up, "Right. See as a lady, you'll face many obstacles and difficulties in life, and while some can be resolved with your awesome good looks, and incredible wits, some will demand some drastic measures. In your journey in adulthood, and more specifically womanhood, this…" she held the Pepper spray high in the sky, "this will be your most trustworthy ally in this dark world full of injustice. So embrace it proudly and use it wisely with no hesitation, don't wait for a man to come and save you my dear flower, take matter in your own hands!" she finished with a dramatic pose and the bluenette chuckled awkwardly.

"Umm, did you just copy that stupid online commercial?"

"Yes! But I added some parts too." The blonde girl answered proudly, still in her previous position, "Now off you go! And don't forget to take it everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! You'll thank me later."

"Sure." Mari shrugged but decided to put the bottle in her messenger bag anyway, "see you later!"

* * *

A short while later, after struggling to find Mr. Plagg who decided to fight a poor old man over the best type of cheese to go with wine, the two were finally seated at a nearby café, with the man sipping calmly from his black coffee and carefully eyeing the girl in front of him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" the bluenette started while fidgeting with her cup of tea. Her sudden exclamation caused the man to slightly choke on his drink and to start coughing.

"Whaaaat?! I just wanted to thank you and spend time with one of my favorite persons in the world!" he gave a hopeful grin but she saw right through it, causing her to roll her eyes in annoyance at his fake act.

"We both know that's not true Mr. Plagg, so just spit it out." She took a sip from her cup but kept a sharp glance on him, however when minutes passed and the man didn't speak and kept avoiding her eyes, she decided to slightly change the subject, "you know, I've been reading articles and watching videos about the band, and it seems that Brian still hadn't made any official appearances, is everything alright?" the way Plagg just flinched only meant that she had hit the spot.

"a-actually, this is why I wanted to talk to you," he ruffled his hair nervously and Marinette bit her lower lip in anticipation, seeing the usually bold and energetic man acting all tense and hesitant meant that something was seriously wrong. " I don't know how to say this, so I'll just blurt it out as it is!"

"Marinette, how do you feel about spending 5 months with 4Bs, as Brian of course! You know you won't even live with the entire band, just Luka, Félix and Adrien since Nate is away. You'll have your own room in the villa too so no one will bother you, and the work is pretty easy, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it with all the talent you got!" he let a deep breath and looked at her expectedly, as the girl chuckled nervously, the corner of her left eye started twitching a bit, and she needed a moment to let it all sink in.

She starred at the cat-like man in front of her with disbelief; like he had grown two heads, and after what felt like eternity with him starring right back at her, she finally snapped out of her shock and spoke up.

"so let me get this right, you want ME to spend 5 months with three famous attractive boys in their super huge villa, all the way while skipping school AND pretending to be a boy too!" the man gave her a sheepish wide grin, as if confirming what little doubt and hope she had of all of this just being a bad joke.

At that instant, Marinette Dupain Cheng knew that she was fucked up, yep was in some deep shit right now. And what was the best way to deal with these situations? Run as fast as you can of course!

"Mr. Plagg, I think you should see a psychologist, or maybe a psychiatrist." She whispered quietly before getting up and taking a few steps away from the table, "please stop following me and coming to my house, or else I-I'll…C-Call the police!"

"Wait! Please let's negotiate or something!" Plagg got up as well and walked closer to her, causing the customers to give them questioning looks.

"No way Mister! You're way out of your mind if you think I'll agree! I don't care what Brian's excuse is this time but it's not my problem! He should've known better than get in this mess if he couldn't handle it in the first place!"

"It's because he has cancer, ok!" Plagg suddenly shouted, and Marinette stopped in her track as silence filled the small coffee shop, the customers finally irrupted into whispering some hushed comments about the odd due that had just caused a scene.

The dark haired male walked back to his seat and held his head in his hands, the bluenette felt too awkward and guilty to leave just like that so she sat down as well and waited for him to speak.

"He…He's been going to the hospital for a while now and …" he took a deep breath and started shaking lightly, " he was diagnosed with… Eye cancer."

Marinette gaped a little and lowered her head feeling a bit of shame for thinking that Brian was just lazy and manipulative, while something in her heart snapped. Memories of her father rushed down to her and she tried so hard to push away those familiar feelings of sadness and uselessness "I'm…I'm truly sorry. W-will he…?"

"Oh, no, no! There's still hope, I guess. You know they're doing tests, surgery, radiotherapy and stuff like that…Though it will take around 5 months, maybe more, for him to be perfectly cured…"

"I see…" Marinette took a deep breath trying to calm her thoughts, even if this was the case, she couldn't possibly agree. This demand was beyond possible, her mom would never ever let her do something like that, school will start in two to three months and even if it's college she couldn't simply drop out and skip all her lessons, and what about her dream and becoming a fashion designer? She still had a shot at that! She can't give it all up just for him.

"you weren't able to help your dad. But maybe you could help him."

No, she can't. Yes it broke her heart that she can't help him and it hurts her really, but everything has a limit, she couldn't break down her own future and life for his sake, it was selfish, but she was just a human after all and her kindness and selflessness can reach an end as well.

"You'll be paid! As much as you want, just put your price! Or if you want anything else I'll be sure to grant it for you, anything!" he clasped his hands and begged her, "Please, just till he recovers!"

Marinette closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, "it's not about money, I just can't do it. Something like that shouldn't be asked to just any random person, it's not something that even the kindest can easily agree to. Please understand that, morals about me being a girl living with 3 boys and the fact that it could be legally dangerous to fake identities and deceive like that and could cause serious problems for everyone aside, I still have my own life, my dreams, my family, my future and I can't just abandon it all like that!" she took a quick glance at him and seeing his sad expression only caused more guilt and sadness to build up, "I think the best course of actions is to maybe try and explain the situation to Mr. Ross and the others, I'm sure they'll understand. Or if you must resort to deceit, then perhaps consider hiring a professional male actor?"

She tried to smile and lighten the mood a bit, but Plagg seemed completely drowned in despair, his head hung low and his eyes lost that mischief vibe, he didn't seem as energetic as he was back when they first met and didn't attempt to give her those stupid arguments so she would agree to his grand plan, so she guessed he did indeed understand the seriousness of the situation and how it greatly affected her, and she somehow felt grateful that he was possibly aware of her feelings and opinions about all of this.

With a heavy heart, she finally stood up and slightly bowed in respect, "I'm truly sorry for Brian, and also for not being able to help him…But, i-if there's anything else I can do other than…this, then please don't hesitate in coming to me. Thanks for the drinks." She sighed and walked out of the café, deciding to go to the park instead of heading home, she needed to clear her mind and regain her composure a bit, (she'll have to text Amy first though, for all she know, the girl could already be preparing a search party right now .).

"Wait!" she was stopped once again as Mr. Plagg walked to her, "here's my card, I still owe you after all. And…If you ever change your mind… just call or text ok?" he gave a weak smile, and Marinette could only nod and take the small paper as the man walked to the opposite direction.

* * *

 **00:20 Dupain-Cheng resident.**

"Ugh!" Marinette groaned silently in her pillow before lying on her back. It was past midnight and she couldn't sleep, no scratch that, she couldn't do anything today, not even think straight.

After that meeting with Plagg, her mind was clouded by all the different thoughts, from regret and sadness to possible solutions and ways she could help him but nothing came out. The hurricane of emotions only brought her mood down and affected all her usual activities, even when her mom told her about all her adventures and jokes that happened to her at Nadja's; it still didn't cheer her up. She hoped she could just sleep all her worries away and that tomorrow could be better, but apparently the universe just liked to see her miserable.

With a deep sigh, she decided to go downstairs and get herself a quick snack and maybe a warm cup of milk to help her sleep.

However, when she neared the kitchen, she could see that the lights were turned on, which was really odd considering that her mom was an early sleeper. The bluenette gulped and feared the worst as she slowly made her way to the door. She sighed in relief when she heard her mom's voice.

Her happiness was cut short when she heard what exactly her mom was saying.

"There's so much taxes this time, the business is really slow too, and then there's the payments and Marinette's college and I just….I-I don't know what to do!" the bluenette took a quick peek inside, only to see Sabin seated at the dining table, papers were scattered everywhere with a framed picture of Tom lying in front of her.

"Ever since you left nothing have been the same, I try to be strong and tell myself that everything will be fine but…I just don't know what to do anymore! I can't borrow money since we still have some debts and I truly don't want to sell the scooter, it's a gift from you, and Marinette…We treasure it dearly. I really want to support our daughter with her dream, I know that you would have done the same If you were here; but w-what can I do…"

The poor woman couldn't take it anymore and bursted in tears. Marinette bit down her lip trying to hold back her own tears.

She quickly but silently made her way upstairs to her room, she wanted to comfort her mom but she couldn't, she was too weak and she knew very well that if she tried talking to Sabin, the woman would only brush her worries away and smile like it was nothing, she would rather bottle it all inside instead of worrying her daughter or possibly ask her to scarify everything even if Mari was more than willing to find a job and help out.

But if Marinette can't help with words, then actions are the key. With shaky hands, she reached for a small paper on her desk then grabbed her phone and decided to go out to the balcony so she wouldn't make any noise.

Every cell in her brain screamed at her that what she was about to do was wrong and dangerous, but she didn't care, seeing her mom in that state crushed her heart and made her feel so weak and pathetic for not being able to do something and ease their sorrows, and knowing that the woman wouldn't accept any of the more 'normal' ways to help only made her more determined to do it. It may be wrong, she may regret it, it will cost her mother's trust but she was willing to risk it all, for her mom and for her dad, she refused to be a burden, she refused to surrender and drop everything on Sabin's shoulder.

She will help, in her own way.

She typed the number and hesitated a bit, thinking her choices once more. At one point she almost opted for calling tomorrow since it was too late but she didn't trust herself to keep up with this decision the next day.

She finally selected the dial option and waited, it rang one time, then another one, and a third one, and Marinette started losing hope that he will pick up. "Maybe he's already asleep, or busy with…"

{Hello? Who is this? Do you know what time is it?!} Her thoughts were interrupted as a voice exclaimed from the other end.

She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the words that were to leave her mouth soon, words she wasn't sure she would be thankful she said them or be sorry she even thought of them later on, words that were the only ones available now, and the right decision she could think of, her only hope.

"Mr. Plagg, it's Marinette. I… Can we meet up tomorrow in the same café? I …."


	6. And they meet

_**And they meet…**_

 **Yes I've been gone for forever, yes you have all the right to hate me and all the right to give up on reading this and I'm really sorry, I don't have any excuses just life happened I guess…so yeah I'm terribly sorry.**

* * *

 _10: 00 AM Café "Le Delice"_

Marinette fumbled with her fingers as she waited for Plagg to arrive, her orange juice was long forgotten and placed away in front of her. She tried to ease her mind by reciting the things she needed to say to the cat-like man.

Her waiting was cut short as the bell to the café signaled a new customer; she titled her head to the direction of the door only to notice that it was indeed Plagg who had just entered. The man noticed her immediately and slowly made his way to her table; taking a seat in front of her.

"Mr. Plagg" Marinette greeted flatly; trying her best to maintain what she believed to be a stoic and professional expression.

"Marinette." The man answered in an identical tone while taking off his sun-glasses.

There was a brief pose where the two just stared blankly at one another, studying the other person and waiting for them to make the first move.

The bluenette was the one to break the silence, "want anything to drink? It's on me this time."

Plagg shook his head and declined politely, his expression morphed into a sickly and uncomfortable one as he remembered the many; many galloons of iced-coffee; that he had consumed the previous night, he shuddered at the memory and doubted he would be able to even look at that thing ever again, scratch that, he doesn't think his stomach will be able to accept any drink with caffeine for a while.

The bluenette ignored the disgusted look on his face and decided to clear her throat and dive into the subject. "So, about what I said yesterday, well technically this morning."

"Yeah, you said you thought about it and you changed your mind. "He paused and contemplated on whether he should go for it and ask the obvious question or not, at the end he did, "so I get you're gonna do it?"

Marinette shifted her gaze away and nervously played with her glass, "I…I am. B-but I have a couple of…um…conditions."

"Of course your highness" Plagg rolled his eyes with a knowing smirk and motioned to her to continue.

She took a deep breath and tried to maintain a brave facade as she spoke, "f-first, I would like my fair share of…you know, the incomes. I'm not saying you need to pay me for doing this, I mean I am, but I'll be doing all the work so I deserve something as well, you know."

The cat-liked man snickered and looked at her with boredom, "huh, so it's like that after all. Alright go on."

Marinette raised an eyebrow at his answer, "what do you mean 'like that'?"

"It's nothing don't worry 'bout it." He waved his hand dismissively, but it only urged her to know more, she narrowed her eyes at him and gave a demanding look. Plagg rolled his eyes but answered anyway, "you know, it's just that people change their minds immediately when money is involved, there's nothing wrong with that though, like I get it; money solves everything."

The bluenette bit her lips and clenched her fists trying to remain calm, she knew that he did have a point, she was doing this for the money, but the way he put it; it just made her seems like some gold diggers or someone who would sell their morals away just for the sake of money, and she wasn't like that. Marinette never cared what people who weren't close to her thought about her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't defend herself while being insulted, she wasn't about to just shut up and listen to some crazy man judging her when he knew nothing; absolutely nothing about her and her life.

She was angry and she didn't care if she was being way sensitive or a drama queen, she doesn't like this picture he had painted of her in his mind, "listen here Mr. Plagg, I don't give two shits about what people like you think about me; but that doesn't mean I'll sit quiet and listen to you indirectly trashing me. I don't care about your money or how much I'll gain from this, yes I am desperate but it's not for the reasons you think. I-I want to help my mother, and I know that this is definitely not the best way but I don't have another choice, that's why I decided to do whatever it takes to help her and make her happy. So don't go judging people thinking you know better because you don't!" she let a deep breath to calm herself and kept glaring at the man.

Plagg only blink once, twice, before grinning "just the answer I expected," he chuckle a bit before his tone turned serious and his eyes softened, "and just so you know, I'm not judging you kido, I know it must be hard without your father and all."

Marinette was about to agree when she suddenly caught on a very important detail, she had never mentioned her father's absence to Plagg before, heck she never talked about her personal life at all! Their conversations only involved planning and him pleading her for help or the both of them panicking and being nervous.

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to ask him how the hell does he know about this but he quickly interrupted her saying that "he got his ways" and winked.

"Anyways; don't worry, you get your fair share of the money Brian -which means you- earns, a portion of the band's earnings is taken by the company- which ensure I actually get paid-, while the rest is distributed equally between the member of 4Bs. As for you, you get 75% of Brian's share."

"Wow! Wait 75%? Isn't that a bit too much? I'll be happy with just 25%!" honestly she knew 4Bs probably gains a lot considering they're one of the most famous bands in Paris or maybe all of France, but she couldn't imagine herself explaining to her mom why and how she got all that money to begin with, Sabin was bound to think her daughter was involved in some shady business, "plus, Brian needs the money to continue his treatment right? It will be unfair if I profit from using his name while he suffers."

"When you put it like that…I guess we can work with fifty-fifty then, but you'll have to work hard since how much the band earns changes depending on your fans and your performance, it's also a matter of reputation you know?"

The bluenette nodded and gave a determined look, "don't worry, I'll take it seriously and do my best."

"Good. Anything else princess?" he looked at his watch and frowned a bit, they're going to be late.

"Yes. I should let you know that apart from my piano class in seventh grade and some signing done in the shower; I don't have any experience with music, instruments or signing." She really hoped he can arrange for her to take some lessons in whatever instrument she needed to play because she didn't want to show up to rehearsals as clueless and inexperienced as she was last time, she refused to make a fool of herself in front of that stuck-up blond dude, or his friend; even though they were quite friendly.

"No worries, it's all been taking care of. I'll personally make sure you learn all the knots of the show biz world along with what it takes to be a perfect member of 4Bs!" He smirked proudly and she nodded.

"Alright, what about my staying?"

"Like I said before; you'll be living with the boys in their private villa, and this is actually the tricky part. You'll be given your own room and a bathroom that's connected to it; if I'm not wrong. However everything else will be shared with the boys; that's why you must be extra careful in the way you act around them and how you interact with everyone okay?" he paused a bit while scratching his chin in thinking, "in fact I think it will be best if you keep your interactions at the bare minimum and keep your distances, I won't be with you at home unlike the studio so I won't be able to help if something goes wrong. Plus Félix and Nate are basically isolated from everyone the majority of the time, it won't do any difference if the new member is as introverted too, at least for a while."

Marinette slightly gulped and nodded, she knew this won't be easy, but she will have to do her best and stay cautious all the time, one slip up and she's dead meat.

"I'll be careful." She sighed then prepared for the question that had been haunting her ever since she made up her mind about this whole ordeal. "Um…Last thing, and this is more of a request actually. You see, since I'll officially be Brian for the next 5 months, which means that Marinette will need an excuse for suddenly disappearing from the surface of earth. Preferably an excuse that would fool her mother." She internally cursed herself at how childish and stupid she had phrased her sentences, but managed to give a sheepish (pleading) grin.

Plagg hummed in understanding before closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair, Marinette took that as an indication that he was in deep thoughts, or as deep as Plagg's thoughts could get anyways.

After a few minutes of silence, the man snapped his finger while grinning "you want to be a fashion designer, right?"

Again another piece of information that she was sure she did not share with this man, nonetheless she still nodded.

His smile only grew wider as he got up from his seat, "perfect! Then it's settled, let's go!"

"Uh, where?"

"To put our plan in motion of course!" he fished his phone and started typing excitedly; Marinette guessed he was sending a text perhaps, "also there's someone I'd like you to meet."

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

Nino Lahiffe sighed for umpteenth time that morning as he strolled through the busy Parisian streets, looking for a certain boutique. He was very annoyed when he had received that text, informing him that he needed to go to some clothes shop instead of the café that he had been inhabiting for the last hour and a half; and that he awkwardly -yet not so swiftly- managed to leave without going through the embarrassment of explaining to the waitress that he wasn't going to order anything even though he had spent all that time sitting uncomfortably in the corner and repeating the phrase of 'waiting for someone' that apparently ditched him.

When he finally managed to arrive at his destination, he took a moment to scan the area and groaned in annoyance and disappointment when he didn't spot a certain black car or a disheveled man waiting for him, _"guess I'll have to wait here like a weirdo for another hour, yay the joy."_

The brunet honestly didn't know when his supposed DJ internship at 'Miraculous' turned into an internship for becoming Plagg's personal assistance/errands boy.

It started simple, like the man asking him if he can get him a few documents on his way to the studio, and quickly escalated to brining him coffee and cheesecakes every morning or doing all the paperwork HE was supposed to do. And while Nino did gain a few privileges from all this unnecessary work that was NOT in the job description, (like that time Plagg took him to some VIP party and introduced him to this famous DJ who gave him some tips and tricks- now this is something he did expect from this internship!) it was still way too tiring.

Yesterday's dozen cups of iced-coffee that he was forced to get from this 'specific and special' shop at 11PM were quit the example of the slavery that he was living.

Speaking of yesterday, the conversation he had had with the 4Bs manager about an old friend of his, along with this unplanned super important meeting was leaving him uneasy.

 _ **~Flashback~**_

 _23:40 -Miraculous Talent Agency-Plagg's…Office_

"Here, this is the last trip I'm going to do to that place." Nino declared while slamming the coffee tray on the table in front of Plagg. Said man wasted no time in taking a cup and started gulping down its content.

"Well then, goodnight Plagg, see you tomorrow." The boy started navigating through the many empty cups of iced-coffee trying to make his way to the door.

"Yes, you go and leave me to die along too…" the man replied in a bit of a slur and Nino found himself questioning if it was possible to get drunk and wasted on iced-coffee. "I'm ruined, he's ruined, it's all goooooone!" he proceeded to collapse in a dramatic way on the table.

The DJ rolled his eyes and sighed, his boss was being a drama queen; yes, but something told him that if he didn't say anything now to comfort him; he'll most likely never hear the end of it tomorrow; of how he had 'betrayed him'.

So with a heavy breath, he propped himself next to Plagg and asked the question he was trying so hard not to ask, because God only knew how this man was so good at guilt tripping him, "ok what happened."

Plagg sniffed a bit then replied, "Brian's chances to become a part of 4Bs are ruined, and Bob will definitely fire me after this!"

"But…I thought Brian was back and he signed the contract, right?" Nino had never seen nor talked to this Brian dude, but Plagg would never shut up about him and how suited for the band and talented he was.

There was a bit of a long pose, too long, Nino thought, before the man finally spoke again, "Yeah, he did. But he had to go back for treatment…" his voice was hesitant and barely above a whisper as he spoke. It was weird and way out of character for Plagg, it made Nino worry.

"W-why? Is he…okay?"

"No….he…he has cancer." The man's face was covered with his arms, so Nino couldn't see his expression, but the way his voice just cracked confirmed that he wasn't messing around with one of his dark jokes as usual.

"Oh….I'm sorry…. " He was at a loss of word, he was never good at comforting people in this kind of situation, time has proven as much. Still he attempted to pat Plagg at the back as his eyes shifted across the room trying to find something to say.

And that's when he saw it.

A small picture, placed on the table between the mass of documents and coffee cups. _"Wait…is that…."_ He found himself reaching for the picture; he took it and started inspecting it closely with his mouth slightly open in awe.

Sensing the sudden quiet atmosphere, Plagg raised his head and peeked at the teenager beside him. He was about to ask what's wrong when Nino turned to him, eyes wide as he pointed to the picture in his hand.

"Is…Is this…Brian?"

"Yeah….why?" Plagg raised an eyebrow as he studied the boy's expression morph from shock to realization to…was that sadness, or maybe hurt.

"It's just…he looks like someone I know, well used to know…" He sighed but his eyes never left the photo.

"Someone you know?" Plagg had this sudden feeling, a small suspicion, an idea that he wanted; needed to confirm. _"It couldn't be that he knows…"_

"Yeah, a girl actually." There was a hint of nostalgia mixed with sadness as he spoke, "we were good friends…until I messed up."

Bingo! The cat-like man knew exactly who he was referring to, so he decided to humor him and feed his own curiosity, "really? What happened?"

"Well, I guess…" he hesitated a bit before continuing, "her dad died, he was a cool dude you know, super kind and so supportive, but I wasn't there with her when she needed me. Then life happened and I moved away, and yeah…we lost connection."

"Oh…" Plagg answered nonchalantly, his brain was already mapping out a small plan that may solve this whole ordeal. "So, you don't want to reconcile with her?"

"I don't know dude, I mean her family's bakery is a few blocks away from my house but….she's probably too busy with her life, she always wanted to be a fashion designer so I'm sure she doesn't have time for my sorry sad ass." He chuckled humorlessly then put the picture back on the table.

"Yeah…" the man hummed in thoughts, and then quickly got up, "alright, I think it's time to call it a night!" he helped the boy up then proceeded to push him to the door.

"W-wait, what?! Are you going to be ok? I…" Nino tried to protest but was immediately interrupted.

"Nope, I'm good. Now go home and sleep." He shoved him outside then grinned, "make sure to keep your phone close tomorrow, there's someone I may introduce to you, so stay sharp! Good night!"

The man shut the door and Nino was left speechless as he tried to understand what had just happened, one moment they were having an honest chat and the next he was being shoved out.

He sighed then turned around ready to go back home. And it wasn't until he was laying comfortably on his bed that the sick and uneasy feeling hit him. Plagg was a…unpredictable man, and although he had good intentions most of the time, he still chose to follow roundabout methods without minding the feelings of those involved. And with him in this dejected state, he could do about anything.

Now the crazy things that that man could do were quite a lot, but for Nino they all seemed to fall all in one line leading straight to one half-Chinese girl.

The brunet hoped he was just paranoid and over thinking things, but he also prayed that his former friend won't get wrapped up in this whole mess.

 _ **~End Of Flashback~**_

Just as Nino was about to fish his phone to help distract him, he caught sight of a familiar black car pulling a few feet away from him. He scrawled and started walking toward it ready to give a man a piece of his mind.

When suddenly, he stopped.

Plagg wasn't alone. There was a girl around Nino's age with him; she looked as annoyed as he was at the man. Then she turned and their eyes met.

Nino froze in his place, _"no it can't be…",_ Plagg had really gone and did it. He tried to speak but the words got caught in his throat, and no matter how he tried he couldn't find his voice.

"N-Nino?"

"Marinette…"


	7. Explanations

**Just a quick note:**

 **I went back and edited the first chapter changing how Tom died from accident to cancer, because I believe this will make Marinette sympathies more with Brian and help him. (IDK why I didn't think of it at the beginning) nothing major so you don't have to go back and reread anything, just keep it in mind.**

 **Also, Mari and Nino are just best friends since childhood, I don't intend on making Nino a love interest, because I love DJWIFI too much**.

* * *

Chapter Text

 _ **Explanations**_

"N-Nino?"

"Marinette…"

In this particularly awkward situation, Nino had found himself listing down three options for what he wanted to do next:

He wanted to hug Marinette so badly and apologize for her. He had been the worst friend possible and abandoned her when she needed him. He felt a deep regret for his past actions, and if he could; he would give anything to just go back in time and give his past stupid self a big slap and knock some sense in to it. He wanted to punch Plagg, scream at him, curse him, anything to express the frustration and anger he was feeling toward the man right now. How dare he get Marinette involved in whatever schemes he was planning, Plagg was way more sly and sneaky than he lets on, and his best friend was so kind -too kind- and was probably tricked into doing whatever the hell Plagg was planning to make her do by bringing her here. Nino had called it, he knew he had made a grave mistake by bringing her in the conversation yesterday, and he briefly wondered if the person Plagg had intended to introduce him to was actually Marinette all along, he wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case. He wanted to run. Yes he wanted to flee from the scene and maybe curse and cry somewhere private. He was a coward, he knew it, he was so disgusted with himself for thinking of this option and he hated himself for being so eager to go with it, but he couldn't face her, he just couldn't, he had hurt her, and she probably hates him now. So in all honestly, he would rather live with the burden of not knowing and experiencing her anger and disappointment rather than face it first handedly.

The gears inside Nino's brain had started thinking of the best route, when he suddenly felt something crashing in his chest and enveloping him tightly.

Marinette had launched at him, crushing his bones in a bear hug. Nino's hands quickly found themselves around her as well, as he took in the familiar warmth.

"I m-missed you, you….you i-idiot!" her voice was shaking and muffled, but he still heard it and tried his best to fight the smile that was creeping to his face.

"m-me too…" he sighed, he really missed her, missed their night long video gaming sessions, how she always invited him to sleep over and begged him to let her do his nails, how they would criticize each other's work (be it her new design or a remix he composed recently), he missed talking to her about everything and anything, having a shoulder to cry on and an ear to vent to, he really missed his best friend so much.

The hug lasted a couple minutes before Marinette pulled away, she raised her head and looked at him, eyes narrowed; with tears threatening to fall at any given moment, she frowned and Nino found himself contemplating the new high difference between them and how Marinette was somehow much shorter than he remembered, when it hit.

He felt something warm and stingy on his left cheek, and his head was suddenly angled toward the right. His hand flew immediately to the red mark that was slowly forming on his cheek.

"This…. is for leaving me out of nowhere." Her hand was still raised in the air as she breathed heavily, chest rising up and down not from physical effort but rather sheer anger.

The brunet blinked trying to process what had just happened, weren't they having a moment just now? Why did she slap him out of the blue? His mouth opened and he uttered the only words that actually made sense to him right now. "w-what the hell dude!"

"What the hell? What the hell were YOU thinking!?" Marinette was quick to retort back, fists clenched at her sides as she eyed him with a hurt yet angry glare he never thought it will be directed at him someday. "You left….I needed you and you just disappeared! I went to your home and your neighbors said that you left for Morocco! And even when you came back you ignored me, changed schools and pretended to not know me!" Tears were pouring from her bluebell eyes as she spoke, "3 years…I-I haven't seen you for 3 years…no calls, no e-mails, not even a single visit to the bakery, NOTHING! Was our friendship just a joke to you?!"

"M-Marinette listen I'm…"

"No you listen, I'm not done yet." She held a hand stopping him from inching closer or talking, "d-do you know how it f-feels…to not only lose your d-dad…B-but also someone you considered a b-brother? To have someone you've known a-all your life suddenly leaving you, with no explanation or…or anything…..You just left a-and and I kept wondering i-if I've done s-something wrong…if it was m-my fault…"

She was fully sobbing now, her hands trying to push away the tears to no avail as she mumbled incoherent words. Nino felt his heart ripping to pieces at the sight, he wanted to beat himself up for being such a jerk, for making her cry and feel this horrible.

His mouth opened and closed but nothing came out, he didn't know what to say anymore, he didn't know if he even had the right to talk to her right now. His head hung low and he cursed under his breath. They were suddenly 15 years old again, with her crying and drowning in despair as he watched unable to do anything because he was a fucking coward! He fucking ran away and now….and now….

"Alright, that's enough." A voice that had been way too quiet for the past 15 minutes suddenly made his presence known as he walked to the two young adults, he placed a hand on both of their shoulders and started guiding them away and into the clothing shop. "You two have caused quite the teen drama that it can fill a crappy soap opera episode, and people are starting to enjoy it too much." He casted a quick glance to where a bunch of people had stopped their daily activity and were now whispering and watching the scene.

Plagg stopped at the entrance of 'Oh-La-La!" and smiled reassuringly at the two teens who were sending him death glares, "tell you what, you two are gonna talk this out like the two rational adults you are, while I find myself some suitable clothes, ok?" he didn't wait for his answer as he opened the door and dragged the two by their arms. He grinned at the cashier, who couldn't be bothered to look up from his comic book, then proceeded to walk straight to a corner with a chaise lounge, he instructed them, forced them, to sit down before leaving to look at some suits like it was just another normal day of shopping for him.

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two, only Marinette's sniffs were heard as she tried to dry her tears. Turning into a crying mess was definitely not on her to do list for the day, but so was running into Nino, whom she thought she would never meet again, let along talk to him and expose her raw feelings to him.

Thinking about it now, she guessed she had maybe over reacted a bit, she was quit overwhelmed at seeing him that she just…bursted. She glanced at her friend from the corner of her eyes, he was still sending deathly and annoyed glares toward Plagg, and honestly she couldn't blame him, she was feeling the same frustration -if not more- toward the cat-like man. However, she couldn't deny that he was right, they needed to talk, to end this drama once and for all; because she was so tired, tired of all the doubt and regret and the unspoken what ifs. She just wanted a bit of peace of mind and knowing the truth behind all of this, and if she was completely sincere, then a tiny bit of her wanted -hoped- that she and Nino would be back as the friends they once were.

With a heavy breath she whispered, "So…" ok maybe she didn't plan this as she should've because she was at a loss of words, what should she say exactly?

Nino was taken aback by the sudden voice, he didn't think she'd be willing to talk to him anymore, but he replied nonetheless, just to let her know that he also wanted to have this conversation. "S-so…."

Marinette sniffed trying to think of something appropriate to say, when a paper handkerchief was giving to her. She accepted it then looked at Nino who took off his cap with a huff and ran a hand through his hair before placing back his cape. It was a small gesture the brunet did whenever he was feeling nervous and stressed and Marinette couldn't help but smile, something never changed.

"Why did you leave?" her voice was a bit shaky as she spoke, but she tried to ignore it as she looked at her friend expectedly.

Nino blinked, still not sure if this was real or if it was just a cruel joke from Plagg, when he saw how intense her gaze was, like his answer would determine her whole existence, he gave up and looked away, "I…I guess I was just stupid…"

"Well there's no denying that." Again, he was surprised at her sudden joke but chuckled along, a strong feeling of both regret and nostalgia filling him.

"Yeah, you're right, as usual." He sighed, "I was just stupid and selfish, thinking I was doing the right thing when I was just making everything worst for both of us."

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder; a sincere reassuring smile that he had missed so much was gracing her features as she looked at him, "just start from the beginning."

He nodded, Marinette did have that impact on people, reassuring them that everything was alright with just a simple gesture, "right before Tom…died…" the words had a bitter taste to them and he didn't miss the way her smile was slowly fading, "my grandmother got really sick and we planned to go back to Morocco to help look after her. Then the news about your dad came and honestly I was…conflicted. I was never good with deaths, you know that the best." She nodded remembering that time his grandfather died and how he had shut himself away from everyone; it had taken her ages to get him out of his shell again. "Well I was afraid. On one hand I thought my Gran would die and be gone if I didn't go to her, the idea of losing her just terrified me. Then, there was you. I didn't want to leave you but I also didn't know how to comfort you. When your dad was sick, I always tried to cheer you up by changing the subject because I was too scared I would say something wrong and also I was weak, I couldn't bear to think of losing anyone.

"I couldn't handle seeing you so broken, the person who always inspired everyone, who was always so strong…I couldn't…so I ran away even though mom was ready to beat my ass and chain me to the fridge to keep me from making this stupid decision…"

His head dropped and he covered his face with his hands unable to face her, "I was selfish…Like villainous-bad-guy-level kind of selfish…I didn't consider your feelings or anything I just wanted my Gran to be safe but…I think that I was just too afraid that I won't be able to cheer you up, that I'd be useless…."

There was a small pause before she found her voice again to speak, "being there….Would have been enough…"

"I know ….I'm sorry, so so so so sorry. I fucked up."

"You did…" she hummed softly, "what happened after that…."

He gulped, not expecting her to want to hear him after that but he managed to regain his composure, and although she was avoiding his gaze, he continued, "my Gran got better, but I was still a coward and ignored your calls, because let's face it, I abandoned you when you needed me most, I was a shitty friend, I believed you deserved better and that I should just do us both a favor and disappear from your life…I still believe I should. "

"So that's why you pretended not to know me when you were back….B-but changing schools, don't you think that's too far…"

"that wasn't planned, it was just a coincidence, , before I knew it I was enrolled in Morocco, balancing school and taking care of Gran…" he let a breath he didn't know he was holding, it was so good yet painful to finally let all of that out of his chest. Now he just waited for her outburst, or for her to officially end their friendship. But that never came.

"h-how is your grandma…" her voice was sincere and genuinely concerned, she wasn't mocking him or anything, and it made him feel even more guilty because that was just how Marinette was, sweet; kind; and so caring.

"She's better…." There was another dead silence before he dared to ask the question that has been on his mind for awhile now, "do you hate me?...I-I understand if you do, also you're not forced to be friend or even talk to me anymore I-"

"Nino Lahiffe, do you want me to slap you again?" he was interrupted by Marinette who gave him an unimpressed look, fresh tears were staining her cheeks but she was quick to wipe them away, "honestly, I leave you alone for 3 years and your stupidity and self doubt reach maximum levels" she shook her head trying to look disappointed in him.

Honestly, saying Nino was again left speechless was quit unnecessary, because apparently his friend was dead set on making him inter in shock with all her unexpected reactions, he was starting to suspect that his friend was actually replaced with an alien or something.

The bluenette reached up and cupped his cheeks, her eyes full with determination as she spoke, "listen. I'm hurt, I'm mad, I'm a bit disappointed, but I can never, ever, hate you! You are my best friend Nino! You've messed up badly yes, and it will take you more than a new case of color pencils and a month worth of ice cream to make it up to me but….I don't want to lose anyone important to me anymore." She smiled and pulled away, "plus we didn't complete half the things we put on our bucket list back in 8th grade and I need my best friend to do that…so what do you say? Forgive and forget?" she opened her arms as if inviting him to a hug as she waited patiently for his answer.

Nino didn't need to be asked twice, this moment was- until now- just a faraway wish, a dream never to come true. And even though the tiny voice in his head kept nagging him and reminding him that they can never go back to exactly the way they were 3 years ago, he didn't care; they'll figure it out as they go. He had finally got his friend back.

He smiled and moved to hug her as well, he allowed himself to let go a few tears of joy and relief because this was Mari and she had seen him in worst states before.

"It's good to have you back, Nino."

"You too Mari, you too."


	8. Planning in style (dressing up part 2?)

**Plagg is a bit too energetic and different from his personality in the show, but can you blame him? All the ups and downs with Brian had done a toll on him and all that iced-cofee is not helping!**

* * *

 _ **Planning in style (dressing up part 2?)**_

"And then Chris thought it would be a good idea to steal Nazim's voodoo dolls collection, that god only knows why he has it, and long story short, the three of us ended up sleeping in the attic and deprived from dessert for the whole week."

"That sucks!" Marinette laughed along as Nino finished telling her another story of his many adventures while in Morocco, she sighed fondly as a feeling of relief and familiarity washed over her.

After the two had finally cleared out all the misunderstandings and dried their tears, an awkward silence fell between them, luckily Nino was quick to try and lighten up the mood by telling her some of the funny incidents that had occurred to him in the past few years.

Marinette was more than eager to hear them out, and within seconds; all the awkwardness and uncertainties vanished as the two talked just like they used to be, as if they have never drifted apart three years ago.

"Hey Nette?" Nino suddenly asked after their laughter had died down. The girl blinked in surprise hearing the long forgotten nickname.

While most of her close friends and sometimes family called her 'Mari', and occasionally 'Mar', her best friend had established a special nickname that only _he_ had the privilege to use. It felt so nice to be able to hear it again.

"Yes, _Bubbles_ ," Marinette chuckled as Nino blushed and narrowed his eyes at her.

Back when they were children, Nino had developed a passion for blowing soap bubbles; this habit of his became a way to channel away anger and negative emotions. And of course Marinette, being the ever faithful best friend she was, seized the opportunity to create a nickname to tease her friend, the boy obviously hated the name since it sounded too girly and it seemed that people's thoughts when hearing it; immediately drifted to that one cartoon character. He tried many times correcting the girl and trying to change his nickname to something cooler, "call me Bubbler instead!" he had insisted continuously, and though most of the time Marinette compromised, she still brought the original name from time to time.

"Don't call me that," he groaned, but the smile gracing his features told her how much he had also missed the nickname. "Anyways I just wanted to apologize for whatever Plagg did to drag you here."

Marinette shifted her gaze to the small changing room that the cat-like man was occupying. She had completely forgotten about him being the main reason for her reunion with Nino and that he was still present with them. True; she had caught some glimpses of him exiting the fitting room now and then to get more clothes, but her mind shoved those images to the back of her head as she gave her full attention to the conversation she was having with Nino back then.

"I don't know what half-truths he told you to get you to come here, but trust me that dude is smarter and sneakier than he lets on." Her attention was brought back to the brunet and she couldn't agree more, Plagg did gave that vibe about him, as if you shouldn't take him so lightly and should be more aware of him. "You're not obliged to be here anymore dudette, let's just go; I'll talk to him later." He threw a dirty look in the direction of the fitting room and was ready to sit up when Marinette stopped him.

"Wait Nino, the way you're talking about him…you seem familiar with Mr. Plagg?" there was no doubt that Nino knew this man on a more of 'just an acquaintance' level.

"well he works at the agency I'm interning in. 'Miraculous', you've heard of it before, right!" he grinned already knowing her answer.

"Wait you intern there? Since when!?" she was sure she hadn't spotted Nino in her two…not so pleasant trips to Miraculous agency, and she was glad she didn't, because how exactly was she supposed to explain to him why she was dressed as a boy and auditioning for 4Bs.

"Yep, summer vacation started a bit earlier for me, and when I came back; I stumbled upon this ad online about internships for beginner DJs and I thought why not? Becoming a DJ was always plan B after movie directing so it won't hurt to get some experience." He shrugged. A look of faint regret and annoyance quickly crossed his feature as he shifted his gaze to the small cabinet again, "the work wasn't much fun though and I ended up being more of an errand boy. Then I met Plagg and become his _personal_ errand boy."

He sighed in frustration and turned to his friend again, "but I guess it has its perks, dude kept his promises and I got to meet some cool people and even attend a VIP party with him it was rad man! He's still manipulative though and has a weird way of guilt tripping people and convincing them to help him."

"Can't agree more on that." She rolled her eyes remembering how he had persuaded her to help him in their first encounter.

She bit her lips as a sudden thought occurred to her, "I can't leave though…"

"What do you mean?"

"um, well…I didn't come with Mr. Plagg to meet you today….It's ….Let's say I knew him too and we kind of made a deal today…." She looked away trying to concentrate on a shirt and avoiding her friend's gaze.

"What kind of deal?" she could feel Nino's suspicious gaze digging holes in her skull as she struggled to find a believable lie.

But did she have to lie though? Nino was her best friend, she told him everything, there were no secrets between them, but again that was the case with her mother as well; and yet she was thinking of a plan to deceive her not an hour ago.

Though if Plagg had brought Nino along then he surely was planning to fill him in and have him help, there was no way he just brought them together just for the sake of reuniting them and mending their friendship, there had to be something more to it, some ulterior motive or a secret scheme.

She sighed and turned back to her friend. There was no use in lying to Nino now, if he really worked at Miraculous- and with none other than Plagg at that- then she would be encountering him more frequently in the future. Keeping the truth from him now would only lead to awkwardness and misunderstandings; it may even expose her true identity and put them all in troubles too.

Well on the bright side, by telling him she would at least have an ally and an emotional pillar to lean on once she entered that war zone, because she knew her sanity will be tested in the next few months.

"Ok, so…It all started with this cheesecake delivery…" Marinette went on about her story, from the crazy car chase to her audition, to the reason why she was now accepting Plagg's offer. She watched Nino's face changing through all sorts of emotions as she told her story: surprise, anger, sympathy, slight amusement and disapproval, yet he didn't dare say anything and waited until she was done talking.

"And so here we are!" she chuckled awkwardly as she waited for a response, and to be quite honest; she might have an idea of what her friend would say next.

"This is….unexpected." Nino took a deep breath before clapping his hand together and giving her a sharp look. "First of all, I want to say that what you did was dumb. Secondly what you're about to do is even more dumb. And finally, I disapprove. There is no way in hell I'm letting you do this."

Marinette sighed, she knew this was coming; her best friend had activated the 'protective big brother' mode and convincing him to change his mind would definitely prove to be a hard task.

"I know but I don't have a choice, and if it makes you feel easier; then Plagg had guaranteed that nothing bad would happen t-"

"And you seriously believed him!?" Nino had cut her before she finished and she had to surpass an eye roll, "dude you're dealing with celebrities here, rich celebrities! They can and will definitely toss you to rot in jail if they ever caught you! Maybe even worse!"

"True, but I'm prepared." She fished her phone and showed him various audio clips and even a video of her different conversations with Plagg, all the way making sure to hold a silencing finger to her lips, last thing she wanted was the cat-like man getting a hold of-and possibly sabotaging- her emergency plan.

"Still living with 3 boys, even if you're pretending to be a girl…" he bit on his lower lips and sighed, "Marinette you know full well that there are other ways to help your mom, I can even help! We will figure something out! You don't have to do this dude!"

"I know. But….But financially speaking, this way is the fastest and it'll ensure that maman wouldn't worry about me. I know full well that this is dangerous and so wrong but if it means helping someone who has done so much to me…If it's for my mother, then I won't hesitate." She took a moment to let a deep breath before facing her friend, trying her best to master a perfect cheerful smile, "plus I have you; now! If anything goes wrong, we can pull one of our infamous escapades! Just like that time we tried to rescue Froppy from the science lab but we got caught and had to escape, remember!" she forced a laugh but stopped when she noticed her friend giving her a cold stare.

She flinched under Nino's gaze as he studied her expression; his eyes were boring holes in her soul as if trying to detect a lie or a hidden truth. After what felt like eternity to her, he finally spoke up.

"Are you sure that's all?" she titled her head; giving him a curious look, he sighed and his gaze immediately softened, "Nette, I've known you since kindergarten, don't you think I've learnt to read you by now? You're selfless and would do the extreme for the ones you hold dear, but you're not stupid or naïve enough to do something like this, hell your conscience alone won't let you lie and deceive everyone by doing this!"

Her eyes briefly widened and she tried to remain as neutral as possible as she decided to listen to everything he had to say before reacting.

"It's because of your father isn't it, it's because Brian has a similar illness….I understand how you feel but…it's not your fault, nor your responsibility; you know?"

She sighed and looked straight ahead as a fond expression graced her features; she knew Nino would see right through her, he knew her too well.

"I guess…" she smiled sadly, "I wasn't able to do anything for Papa, and…it still haunts me sometimes, so…so knowing that I may be able to give another chance to Brian to live, to reach his dream….even if I face some inconveniences, even if it's stupid…as long as there is just a small ray of hope, I want to try…even if I fail, I want to give my best…" she chuckled then turned to Nino, "sorry that was sappy, wasn't it?"

The brunet opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by someone emerging- more like jumping- out of the fitting room and announcing his presence.

"Ta-Da!" Plagg exclaimed; as he stroke a pose, "I look amazing right!" he grinned at the two adolescents who stared at him with awe.

And Marinette had to agree, he looked amazing, amazingly different! His messy dirty suit was pushed away in favor of a clean white dress shirt underneath a dark crimson blazer, with a pair of dark jeans and his old shoes. Even his hair was somehow pushed back and out of his face while his sunglasses rested on his head.

The girl had a hard time processing that this man standing beside her was the same disheveled hobo that she met few days ago. She could see from the corner of her eyes that Nino was as shocked as her as he regarded the man before him. Who could blame them though, it felt like seeing Plagg's more 'clean' twin brother -or doppelganger because that was a thing now apparently-.

The brunet was the first to snap of it as he stood up and walked to the man.

"I still can't believe you guilt tripped Marinette and dragged her into your mess." He growled and threw an accusatory index at Plagg.

"What are you talking about she came to me by her own will, right kid?" he turned to her and she nodded her head weakly, "see?"

"I'm not talking about today and you know it" Nino was getting dangerously close to Plagg with clenched fists, the black haired man wasn't looking impressed either and Marinette knew she had to intervene before something went wrong.

"S-so why did you bring us here?" she tried to make her voice higher so the two male would notice.

"Yeah, why make us meet? I doubt you only want two old friends to reconcile, so what's the catch?" not exactly what she meant but it would be nice to know that too.

"Well," Plagg started as he pushed Nino away from him, "at first, I wanted DJ's help here to convince Marinette to take my offer. Kind of like a reassurance that I'm trustworthy since her BFF would throw good words for me."

"As if I would," the brunet grunted and Plagg rolled his eyes at him.

"Yeah; I noticed, " he said in a bored tone that turned cheerful with his next statement, "but! After you came to me and the things you told me" He pointed to Marinette, "I figured that we needed him for our plan!"

"What plan?" she asked dumbly, had she forgot a step or something? As far as she could remember, Plagg had dragged her out of the café after their chat and kept going on and on about how she took the right choice and that she won't regret it; the whole ride, they hadn't discussed any plan yet.

He rolled his eyes again in frustration, "you know, about your mom?" he shook his head in disappointment when he was met with another ignorant look, "do I have to explain everything myself?"

"Ugh, just speak up dude and stop dragging it."

"You want to be a fashion designer, so basically you need to study fashion at university right?" he ignored Nino completely as he looked at Marinette expectedly, she nodded and his grin grew wider, "great and that's what you'll be doing! In Italy!"

"WHAT!" both adolescents screamed at the same time looking at him like he was some crazy lunatic, and Marinette had to admit that every minute that passed proved to her that this man suffered from some kind of mental illness.

"Yes! At least that's what we need your mother to believe," he continued completely unfazed by their previous outburst.

"And how do we exactly do that?" honestly she was quite skeptical; this plan couldn't work, could it?

"Easy. You'll tell your mom that you've applied to this fancy artsy university in Rome and they were so impressed by your talent that they had offered you a scholarship! The catch is, you have to leave immediately within this week because of a summer program shit or whatever. And I, " he stroke a pose while motioning to himself, " was sent to deal with the paperwork and guardian here as well as escort you back and be a guide!"

Marinette hummed in thoughts while tapping a finger to her lips. At first glance this plan seemed crazy and impossible, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense, "actually that might work!"

"Right! Genius I know!" Plagg laughed obnoxiously before pointing to Nino, "and to make it even more believable, we have the long lost childhood friend that's 'coincidently' going to the same university!"

"Wow, wow! Slow down dude!" Nino chipped in while holding his hands up; "don't drag me to this, okay. And Nette you can't be seriously considering this!"

"Well…" she played with her fingers while trying to avoid his gaze.

"Come on you can't lie to your mom like that! Even if she buys that, that's too low dude!" if looks could kill then Nino would be buried six feet under from Plagg's intense gaze.

"Hey! Stop messing with her head like that! It's her choice and she already agreed,"

"No _you_ stop messing with her! You just want things to be in your advantage you don't care about what happens to her!"

Seeing the two men on the verge of fighting once again, Marinette quickly got up and stood between them while facing Nino.

"listen Nino, I'm grateful that you're worrying about me, I truly am, but this is the only way to ensure maman doesn't suspect anything, if I tell her the truth she certainly won't let me do it." She ignored how the brunet mumbled 'that's exactly what should happen' and reached for his hand instead, "I'm going to do this whether you agree or not, but it'll mean a lot to me if I had you by my side in this."

There was a brief mini staring contest between the two, as if both of them waited for the other one to back down and be convinced by their point of view. At the end Nino lost.

He took a deep breath then let it all out before saying "fine." Both Plagg and Marinette smiled triumphantly as if they have won some sort of trophy, "but just so you know I'm 100% against all of this. And it will backfire on us, mark my words." He let go of Mari's hand in favor of crossing his arms and slightly pouting.

The bluenette giggled and moved to hug her friend while thanking him, as for the Plagg, he waved his hand dismissively as he dropped a comment of how paranoid Nino was.

"Alright let's move it, we still have to add some details to our plan before we get to your house." The man announced, and gathered his original clothes then walked to the register to pay for his new ones.

"Wait, like we're doing this right now?! Like today in this instant?!" Marinette was suddenly feeling uneasy and she felt panic sneaking to her heart.

"Yep! Brian is supposed to move in with 4Bs next week, so we're in kind of a pinch. Now come on we ain't got the whole day!" he opened the door and exited the store leaving the two best friends behind.

Marinette gulped, finding it hard to move. Yes, she was okay with the plan but she hoped she would at least get a few days to prepare for it, or more like prepare for the guilt of lying to her mother. She was certain she would slip up if they just did it out of the blue like this! She needed time to be ready people!

Her internal monologue was interrupted by a light weight on her shoulder, "hey I want you to know that it's still ok to withdraw now," seeing her distressed face, Nino sighed and pulled her close while resting his arm on her shoulder, "just know that I'm here for you; this time for real, so if you ever want to abandon all of this craziness just say the words and we'll be out of there in a flash, just like with Froppy."

"Just like with Froppy," she chuckled at the memory, feeling a lot more relaxed now and leaned in Nino's touch, "thanks Nino, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Anytime Nette, anytime."

The two exited the store as well after hearing Plagg's annoyed shouts from outside, and Marinette prayed that everything will go well, if not for her sake then for Brian's.


	9. The courage of your convictions

**Happy 4th Anniversary !**

 **So I'm back and not dead! but like sorry guys I'm in my last year of high school so things are hectic.**

 **also as an apology you get 2 chapters!**

* * *

 **The courage of your convictions**

 _14:00 PM The Dupain-Ch_ _eng_ _resident._

Marinette took several deep breaths trying to calm her nerves and gather enough courage to help her with what she was about to do.

The trio of Plagg, Marinette and Nino were finally standing in front of the girl's home after almost three hours of planning in the car and getting their story together-with Plagg stopping quickly at Miraculous agency to get 'something important'-.

They had agreed that Marinette and Nino would go first and talk to her mom before introducing Plagg. Their original lie idea of Marinette being accepted to some fancy university was dismissed in favor of a fashion campus that actually existed. The petite girl was against the idea of choosing an actual real place at first, but after some persuading from Plagg; she reluctantly agreed.

She sighed and glanced at the brunet beside her, his face was showing the same amount of discomfort and anxiety she was feeling right now; but his expression turned to a determined one when he noticed her gaze.

"You don't…" he began while placing hand on her shoulder, but she quickly shook her head and gave him a look that clearly said 'you know that I do and you can't change my mind'. With a desperate sigh; he just nodded and waited for her to open the door.

"Come on, hurry up!" Plagg whispered while adjusting his black sunglasses.

The girl took one last deep breath and unlocked the door to her home, she allowed Nino to come in before closing the door again and announcing her arrival, "I'm home!"

"Welcome back honey!" Sabine's cheery voice welcomed them from the kitchen, and like Marinette expected, the woman was brewing some tea just like she always did on her break.

Seeing that her mom was too occupied preparing the beverage and thus didn't notice the figure standing behind her daughter, Marinette cleared her throat.

"Uhm maman...I-I brought a g-guest." She mentally cursed herself for stuttering.

If they wanted this to work, then Marinette needs to act confident, her mom knew very well when her daughter was lying or hiding secrets so she must be careful not to blow their plans up. She shook her head lightly as if trying to clear her thoughts, before fixing her attention to her mother; who turned around and slowly emerged from the kitchen while whipping her hands in a towel.

The bluenette watched as her mother's eyes grew wider and her mouth shaped a small 'o' when she spotted the man. The towel was quickly forgotten on the ground as the woman raced to the brunet and enveloped him in a hug like she used to do to the ten years old boy that came to their home every day after school to play with their daughter.

"Nino! Oh dear look at you! You grew up so much since last time I saw you!" Sabine beamed at the perplexed boy who took a few moments before finally replying.

"Yeah...it's-it's been a while…" He laughed awkwardly.

Sabine looked back at Marinette her smile growing wider, with a happy glint in her eyes, "Marinette you should've told me that the friend you were meeting the other day was Nino. I'm glad you two are mending your friendship back."

"Y-yeah me too…" Marinette gulped as her mother's attention was once again back at Nino, asking him about himself while leading him to the couch.

Marinette could tell that Nino was anxious before coming here and she understood why. Her mom has witnessed how heartbroken her daughter was when her only true friend abandoned her when she needed him most, yet Sabine was never angry at the boy nor was she disappointed, maybe a little sad; yes, but she never spoke ill of him and rather always tried to find excuses for his sudden absence.

Nino didn't know that, so he probably expected the woman to act cold toward him or even throw him out of her house, but Marinette knew very well how kindhearted her mom was and how Nino was like a second son to her -and previously to Tom as well-.

And while Marinette herself had a special place in the Lahiffe household as well, Nino's presence in the Dupain-Cheng family was more prominent, he was considered a family member with his own set of tableware and a spare blanket and pillow for when he was sleeping over. If they could, then Tom and Sabine would have adopted this boy a long time ago.

Smiling a bit at how her mom and her best friend were getting along like old times, Marinette walked to them and took her place in the couch beside her mom and opposite to Nino, she accepted the cup of tea that her mom had offered and took a sip to calm down her nerves.

She found her gaze wandering to the entrance door many times as she pondered on how she should open up the subject.

Her train of thoughts was cut short when her mother called her, "Marinette, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh yes I'm totally fine! Why?" she smiled at her mother and tried not to chuckle at the brunet who was filling his mouth with all the delicious pastries her mother had offered them.

"I asked if you wanted some scones but your mind was elsewhere, is everything alright?" Sabine asked; concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah, it's just…" she pursed her lips then let out a sigh, "maman, I have something I need to tell you"; he placed her cup down; opting to play with her fingers instead.

Her mom nodded and put her cup as well, giving her daughter full attention, while Nino swallowed the generous amount of goods in his mouth and gave his friend an encouraging smile.

"you see…I-I…well a few days ago I found this ad of a fashion campus that gave free courses for-for exceptional talents and…I may have applied and sent them some of my designs and…." She a took a deep breath before letting the next part in such a speed that she doubted her mother understood any word, "Theylikedmydesignsandofferedmeachancetotakesomefashioncouseswiththem!"

Her mother blinked once, twice, seemingly trying to decipher what she had said before her expression morphed into an excited and happy one, "sweetie that's great! I'm so happy and proud of you!"

She moved to hug her and Marinette accepted the gesture. She gave Nino a guilty look that he mirrored and gestured to the door with his head.

"There's this teeny weeny little detail though." She broke the hug and chewed on her lips before adding, "This campus is in….In Milan"

"Italy!" her mother frowned with a concerned look on her face, "but isn't it a bit too far?"

"It's just an hour and a half by plane! Plus isn't grandma's hometown in Milan?" she asked hopefully but the look of worry still remained on her mom's face.

"Sweetie, Gina can't stay in one place for more than two weeks let alone her home town. How long is this fashion course anyways?" her mom asked with curiosity and Marinette prepared herself for what will come next.

"Uhm around…five months, maybe six?" she smiled sheepishly while averting her gaze away.

"Marinette! Six months! That's-that's too long sweetie! You've never been alone for this long and in a foreign country too."

Well Marinette had to admit that it was true; she had never been away from her parents for more than a month, and she never really went outside the country alone either, heck she only visited China maybe three times or so with her mom but that was it. It was only normal that her mom would be worried; this was a big step for her little and only daughter.

"well…Nette's and adult now Mrs. DC," luckily for her Nino was with her and she sent him a subtle grateful look as he spoke, "it's only natural that she starts you know…spreading her wings. She always said she wanted to be a world-known fashion designer and travel around so I-I think it's about time she took the first steps you know?"

Marinette nodded eagerly while her mom looked between her and Nino. She could see that Sabine was considering it, she knew what Nino said was true but apparently it was still difficult to agree to it.

"I know but…" she began but Marinette quickly interrupted her while interlocking their hands.

"Please maman; this is what I always wanted! This is the first steps to achieve my dream and I can't just let it slide like this, please" Marinette resented herself more and more as each word left her mouth; leaving a bitter taste in her throat. She hated lying to her mom, and she hated trying to guilt-trip her like this. She normally despised people who lied and manipulated others in their favor, yet look at her now defying every self-rule and belief she had established for herself. She was disgusted.

She could only chant _"this is for a good cause, you're doing the right thing, and it's for your parent's sake."_ Over and over again in her head to help fight the guilt bubbling in her throat; threatening to spill the whole truth at any moment now.

The older woman opened her mouth to respond but a calm knock on the door stopped her. Both Marinette and Nino flinched, exchanging worried looks as her mother said, "I wasn't expecting anyone today."

Marinette quickly got up and dashed toward the door, she held the knob before turning to her mother again, "actually, I invited som-someone else." She opened the door and Plagg came striding in like he owned the place, he was now wearing his sunglasses instead of resting them on his head, to add some kind of anonymity and secrecy - "do you know how recognizable my stunning eyes are?" he had said and Mari had to admit that it was indeed true-.

"Maman, this is Antonio Di Schifo…He-he's the head of the international section of the _'il cappello rosso'_ Fashion camp. Mr. Antonio this is my mother, Sabine Dupain-Cheng." At that Sabine stood up and observed the man who walked toward her and extended his hand.

" _Buona_ _sera Madam!_ I'm Antonio Di Schifo, it's an _onore_ to meet the mother who produced such a talented _ragazza_ _!"_ Plagg said with such a thick accent that made Marinette want to facepalm, she could see that Nino was also cringing in the background yet her mother didn't seem to notice, either that or she was just humoring the man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Di Schifo" she shook his hand with a polite smile and invited him to sit down while she poured him some tea.

" _Per favore_ just call me Antonio." He added as he took the cup and thanked the woman.

Marinette quickly moved to sit next to Nino this time and offered her mom an explanation, "you see maman, Mr. Antonio was sent to be a guide for me whiles my stay in Milan. Of course he does that to all students who comes from other countries, and when I told him that I would like my mother's approval before doing anything; he insisted on meeting you personally."

"Sì, sì Marinetta is very talented! We were blown by her designs! We insist that she join our camp to hone her skills." He took a sip of his tea while carefully eyeing the older Dupain-Cheng from beneath his sunglasses.

Said woman bit her lips nervously as she spoke, "I understand monsieur, but to have Marinette away all alone, for this long, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this."

" _ovviamente_ , I understand a mother's worry, however…" he fished a pamphlet from his jacket -Marinette wondered where he got it from- and offered it to Sabin before continuing, "as you can see, we at _'il cappello rosso',_ only offer the best for our students. We take care of their stays, their safety, their learning and even food! We present _grande_ discounts! This is a chance of a lifetime for your daughter Madame!"

While the woman was inspecting the pamphlet with an uneasy look, Plagg nodded at Nino, giving him a silent signal to participate in the talk, the brunet growled under his breath but decided to do it anyway since it was for Marinette's sake.

"Do-don't worry Mrs. DC, Marinette won't be alone there," he draped an arm around the bluenette and tried to force a smile, "I'm taking some courses about….F-film making there! In the new film-making ward of the i-il…this camp!"

Marinette resisted the urge to facepalm at her friend for forgetting the camp's name, but tried to shift her focus to her mother instead.

Sabine made a surprised face at the boy before looking back at the pamphlet, "there's nothing here about such a ward, though?"

"Sì, it's a new addition, we only added it this year so we didn't include it yet in the pamphlets." The woman nodded before placing it down and looking at her daughter.

"Sweetie, are you sure about this?" Marinette could see the worry the uncertainty in her mother's eyes and it broke her heart so she moved a bit and took the woman's hands in her own.

"I am maman, I know this is hard, for both of us, I don't want to leave you alone either but this is what I always wanted." She took a deep breath and managed to let a weak smile, "I promise to be careful and to call you every day, and-and it's only a few months and I'll be b-back, ok?"

Tears were threatening to fall from Marinette's eyes at this point. She didn't want to leave her mother, they only had each other now, and what was worse is that she was lying to this kind woman's face and making her feel guilty when all she wanted was to make her daughter happy.

She felt disgusted with herself but she kept pushing the feeling away and replacing it with the determination to make her mother happy, she was doing the right thing, regardless of the method, she just wanted to help her mom and she was going to do it.

"Well, if that's what you truly want. But you have to keep those promises, ok?" her mother gently caressed her cheek and gave her a sweet smile.

Marinette's eyes widened and she whispered a small "really?"

Her mother chuckled and slowly nodded, "of course. What kind of mother would I be if I stopped in the way of achieving your dreams?"

That hit Marinette hard in the gut and she promised herself that once all of this drama was over, she was going to confess everything to her mom and come clean to her, she'll face whatever disappointment or punishment her mother and the universe wanted later.

" _Perfetto, magnifico_! You have made a splendid choice Madame Dupain-Cheng, your daughter is in good hands!" Plagg shook hands with the woman before turning to Marinette, "I'll send you the needed documents later, so you should start packing, we leave in three days!"

"THREE DAYS!?" the other three screamed at once completely baffled by the man's words. Marinette shot her best friend confused looks, they hadn't agreed on this, but he only shrugged indicating that he didn't know any better either.

"Isn't…Isn't three days a little bit…too rushed?" Sabine asked while squeezing her daughter's hands, afraid to let go too soon, and Marinette squeezed back while nodding.

Plagg laughed obnoxiously while waving a hand dismissively, "of course not!" he answered and Marinette panicked a little because he had just dropped his heavy accent, but luckily he noticed and quickly cleared his throat, "Marinetta applied last minute, we weren't going to accept her if her talent wasn't so… _splendido_ _!_ That is why we need to leave fast if we want to make it in time for her to adjust before lessons start!"

"Ah, I see…" Sabine said calmly, not noticing how her daughter and her friend were sending death glares to their guest.

"Well, then I should go." Plagg got up from his seat and walked to the door, the other three right behind him. He stopped at the entrance and turned around, "It was a pleasure meeting you Madame! Marinette, I'll see you in three days! No-fashion sense lad…" Marinette had to chuckle a bit at how deadpan he sounded while addressing Nino-who only glared in response.

"Yes, thank you for coming all this way Mrs. Antonio," her mother smiled politely and slowly bowed.

Plagg grinned and waved his hand as he opened the door, " _addio per ora!"_ and with that he was out of the appartment leaving three, rather confused, adults.

"We still have a lot to talk about young lady," Sabine said in a half-scolding tone before softening and taking her daughter in a hug, "I'm proud of you though."

Marinette gulped, unable to say anything in fear of screwing everything up, so she just opted to return the hug.

Releasing her daughter, Sabine excused herself, saying she still had work to do and asked Marinette to tidy up the kitchen for her. She hugged Nino one last time, urging him to stay until later so she can give him some leftovers goods -the boy was too skinny now!-

Left alone, the two best friends exchanged confused glances before Nino spoke up, "that went…well, I guess? Are you ok?"

"If I'm being honest with you, then no. I'm not the slightest bit ok but I guess I'll manage." Between the awful feelings cramped in her heart for doing this to her mom, and Plagg's declaration of only having three days left as …well 'herself', she was completely lost.

She'll have to call that lunatic cat and give him a good chew for not telling her about their leaving date later, but for now she wanted to give her mind a break and maybe channel her inner anger and disgust with herself into something useful.

She sighed then looked at Nino, "wanna play UMSIII?"

Nino took a moment before chuckling, "aren't there like newer version of UMS?" he asked, already knowing her answer as they walked back to the couch.

"Maybe, but this one is my favorite."

And thus began a long tournament between the two. And it wasn't until Sabine came back after the bakery was closed that the two took notice of how late they had been playing. Of course Marinette had obviously beaten Nino.

* * *

 **QUICK NOTE:**

 **1-I know that in China Women don't take their husband's last name, however in Weredad Chat Noir addressed Sabine as Mrs. Dupain-Cheng in both english and french dub so I went with that (also I think Nino calling her is kind of cool)**

 **2-everything Italien in this chapter including Plagg's fake name was all the result of Google translate and some researches I did (I swear I do too many researches for this fic.) and so if you speak Italien forgive me if it caused you to cringe.**


	10. Goodbye Marinette

**I hate describing rooms and stuff I used references and tried really hard but I'm still not completely happy with it.**

 **also from now on chapters will get a bit shorter so I can update at least once a month or so, so I hope it's ok with you guys.**

 **P.S : there's a sneak peak of the next chapter at the end of this one ;3**

* * *

 _ **Goodbye Marinette**_

The three days had passed faster than Marinette had thought, and she found herself wishing over and over for some time machine to relive those days or a miracle to somehow expend her remaining time as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Right after Nino had left that night, Marinette and Sabine had a heart to heart.

The two talked about Marinette's departure and how it would be so hard for both of them, Sabine giving her daughter many advices that made Mari feel like she was back to being a small child again. The bluenette also insisted that her mom took care of herself and not overwork it and to notify her if anything happens.

Sabine joked about how mature her little girl had become and the talk somehow escalated from there until they were crying their eyes out remembering Tom and grieving his absence.

It wasn't until one in the morning that Marinette had retreated to her room, and even then she couldn't sleep and instead found herself crying again, this time it was of guilt and frustration, she kept cursing at herself and punching her pillow.

That night she felt horrible and sick with herself, and wished so many times that her dad was still alive, maybe then she wouldn't have gotten into all of this mess. Her anger was also thrown at Plagg through angry three AM texts of why the hell haven't he told her that she needed to leave so soon. Those texts were unfortunately met with no response nor were they read.

And needless to say, that morning Marinette had woken up with puffy bloodshot eyes.

The Next day, both Amy and Henry were told about Marinette's little trip. Amy was over the moon with happiness, her boss's daughter was going to Milan to become a Fashion designer, she kept gushing about it and asking Marinette if she would meet any celebrities and if she could get her autographs and souvenir, Marinette awkwardly chuckled and tried to dodge the questions.

Henry however was a bit suspicious, saying that these kinds of programs don't usually offer free internships nor do they specifically send someone to escort the students. The half Chinese girl's blood had run cold at his words, Henry was the observing type that didn't let anything slide and took everything with a grain of salt, it didn't help that he had some experience in international students programs.

Luckily Amy was fast to dismiss him calling him a killjoy before asking Sabine if she could take Marinette shopping after lunch.

And thus Marinette spent the rest of the afternoon navigating through the different shops and malls of Paris, and while it was quite exhausting keeping up with Amy, she couldn't deny that she had fun hanging out with a girl close to her age instead of Nino or Manon for once.

She made a mental note to invite Amy out again once she was 'back' -they should try to invite Henry just too pester him and maybe Nino too so he can officially meet the two employees-.

The day that followed, Sabine had surprised her daughter by closing the bakery and calling it a mother-daughter day. Marinette had tried to convince her otherwise but Sabine was dead set on spending the day with her daughter.

The girl had joked that it felt like she was never coming back with all of the attention she was getting and her mother's answer had sent her frozen, "anything can happen in five months sweetie…" Marinette felt her inside twist with guilt as tears threatened to fall from her bluebell eyes but Sabine quickly smoothed it down with a joke of her own and urged her to go get ready.

They went to all their favorite places in the city that held many precious memories especially with Tom, but both of them kept fighting the tears and tried to enjoy their time together, at least for the other's sake.

They concluded the day by visiting a local spa then having dinner at a Chinese restaurant owned by one of Sabine's old friends.

That night Marinette slept engulfed by her mother's arm, something she hadn't done in quite a few years now if only to try and appear tough. And as her eyes finally surrendered to a sleep that was robbed from her for the last few days, she again made another note of how they needed to do this again in the future.

Her third and last day of being Marinette Dupain-Cheng -or rather before leaving Paris- was rather peaceful compared to the last two days. She spent time helping at the bakery before her mother shooed her out to go pack her stuff, a task Marinette had been avoiding for a while now for it just filled her with more dread and guilt.

Luckily Nino had come to help her, telling her that Plagg tasked him to take care of her current luggage once she officially became Brian and moved to her new home.

Knowing that whatever she would pack she wouldn't use or even take with her, she decided to go light, taking only few items to fill her pink suitcase and so that her mother wouldn't be suspicious of why she left all her clothes in the closet.

Once done, she used another black bag to put in the things she was actually taking with her.

Her diary had almost ended up in that bag but Marinette decided against it last minute, it was risqué enough that she was taking her sketching tools and sketchbooks with her -she just can't leave those behind and she knew being in 'Miraculous' was bound to spark some creativity in her- taking her diary could result in it getting in the wrong hands and her being exposed. She hadn't written anything about the recent events and her deal with Plagg, just some vague hints only she could understand, but she couldn't think of an explanation if someone found a girl's diary laying in her belongings.

From there, the day had passed in slow motion, just like a haze, even with Nino keeping her company and trying to ease her mind, she was just out of it. The brunet had even offered to stay the night, doing a traditional 'Ninette' sleepover, but Mari declined, she needed some alone time to prepare for the big dreadful day.

And now, at in the morning, she was clutching her bag in one hand while the other rested on the suitcase placed beside her, Nino and her mother with her as the latter tried to contain her tears.

They were at the train station, waiting for Plagg to get them their tickets so they can 'leave to Milan'.

"do you have your passport and your ID?" her mother asked worriedly.

"I do…" Marinette answered weakly, trying her best to stay strong.

"what about your phone do you have it? Your spare keys too?"

"Yes Maman they're all here." She said while tapping the black bag.

"Just making sure. Let me go get you a bottle of water." Her mother was ready to bolt toward a nearby kiosk but Marinette quickly took a hold of the woman's arm stopping her.

"Maman it's fine, I'm ok" she tried to smile and her mother nodded while letting a small sigh.

"I know, I'm just…" she bit her lips and she averted her eyes.

"Nervous? Yeah me too…"

"VA bene! We are ready to go!" Antonio, or rather Plagg -who was wearing the same outfit he chose three days ago- announced while walking to them, with two newly bought tickets in his hand.

He made a brief eye contact with Marinette and nodded, she immediately understood that it was a sign that her mother couldn't go any further since the two aren't actually going to get on that train, hell maybe even those tickets were fake.

With a deep breath she turned to her mother and gave her a tight hug, "you should go back now maman, I'll be fine from here" she spoke in a muffled voice.

"W-what?" was what Sabine managed to whisper as she clutched her daughter.

"We need to go take our seats now but it will be a while before the train's departure," Plagg explained in his thick accent, "it will be better if you two went back."

"He's right Maman, they probably need you at the bakery and I don't want to hold you any longer." Her voice broke and small drops fell from her eyes, "N-nino will-will accompany you back…"

"Don't cry now Marinette you'll make me…make me cry too…" Sabine replied with tears already streaming down her cheek and onto Marinette's shirt.

It went on for a few minutes, the mother and daughter hugging each other and quietly crying, forgetting the world around them. Surprisingly even Plagg was silent as he observed the passersby instead.

"Mrs. DC," Nino spoke in a soft tone while putting a hand on said woman's shoulder.

The gesture seemed to break the bubble the two were in; as Sabine let go of her daughter and tried to dry her eyes, leaving Marinette to miss the comforting warmth of her mother.

She tried to manage a comforting smile and reached to cup her daughter's face, "Know that I am very proud of you, and I'm sure that your father is too." At the mention of her father, Marinette's tears intensified but Sabine quickly wiped them away, "Call me when you get there, ok?"

Marinette nodded weakly, and Sabine reached to plant a kiss on both of her cheeks, "I love you sweetie, don't cry or feel bad ok? You're just chasing your dream and there's nothing wrong with that."

" _If only you knew Maman, if only"_ Marinette fought the urge to say those words and instead kissed her mother and hugged her one last time, "I love you too, please take care of yourself."

"You too, sweetheart." She turned her attention to the man and asked in a pleading voice, "Mr. Antonio please look after my daughter"

The man nodded, and for the first time Marinette could here complete sincerity in his voice as he spoke, "don't worry I'll make sure she's ok", She knew he was being genuine, there was no accent or lie in that sentence just pure honestly and it somehow filled Marinette with a bit of relief.

The man wasted no time and lifted the girl's suitcase as he began walking away slowly, Marinette took a look at her mother's heartbroken eyes and knew that if she stayed any longer she would blew everything up.

"Goodbye Marinette," Her mother smiled weakly while waving her hand, Marinette could only nod before following Plagg.

Her mother watched with sad eyes as her daughter disappeared and she was led out of the station by Nino.

If she stayed a bit longer, or looked a bit closer, she would have noticed how her daughter had took a left turn that would lead her to the back exit of the station.

Marinette was led to Plagg's car that was waiting outside, he took both of her bags and put them in the trunk while the girl took her place in the passenger seat.

"You're ok?" Plagg asked sounding a bit concerned, but Marinette only nodded, unable to speak, "we're doing this for a good cause you know? It's the right thing to do."

Seeing that he was met with silence again, Plagg turned on the car and quickly checked his phone as if texting someone before finally driving away.

Marinette let a sigh as she watched the scenery outside the window blur. She wasn't angry with the cat-like man, it wasn't his fault -well even if a tiny part of her blamed him she knew that she was the one who agreed to all of this, it was her choices and decisions that brought her here- it was more like she didn't trust herself to speak at the moment.

Her mother's crying face was engraved in her head and she couldn't shake the heartbroken look in the woman's eyes, perhaps it would've been easier if Marinette actually had something to feel excited about, if she was truly going to achieve her dreams but that wasn't the case.

Her mother's sorrow and tears were caused by a filthy lie she had told. Maybe that was the reason why she felt her heart clinching in her rib cage and the burning sensation in her throat, her tongue feeling like it was made of lead and her eyes stinging too much, that's how she knew that if she attempted to even open her mouth, her tears will spill and she would break down again.

So she opted to distract herself with looking out the window and trying to repeat in her head that everything will be fine.

The rest of the ride was rather fast and in no time the two were in the parking lot of Miraculous Talent Agency.

Marinette snapped out of her haze and asked Plagg if she could use the restroom for a bit. The man agreed and led her to the closest bathroom before giving her instructions to come find him in the second floor when she was done.

The girl wasted no time in washing her face and giving herself a small pep talk, when she was sure she had regained control of her emotions- at least for the time being- and was able to form sentences without breaking into a crying mess, she exited the room.

The feelings of guilt and disgust and anger were still there with the dark thoughts playing in the back of her mind, but she ignored them in favor to try and get to the room she was instructed to go to.

She briefly wondered why they were in the agency to begin with, sure she needed to change her clothes before going to her 'new home' and pass as Brian, but couldn't they do that in " _Oh-La-la!_ " like they usually did? Why come here of all places? Being seeing here as a girl is as dangerous as being exposed, people could still take notice of the similarities between her and Brian even if everyone was quite busy already, so why?

She decided to hold that thought and ask Plagg as soon as she found him, and after a few turns she finally found her destination.

A white door with a red and black polka dotted sign that read 'changing room N° 3.

 _"So I am changing here, huh,"_ She thought as she lightly knocked on the door, she heard Plagg shout an "It's open!" And took this as her cue to open the door and step in.

She took in the interior with awe; the room was certainly bigger than she had anticipated. It was painted in a pure white with different posters of celebrity pasted here and there.

Four mirrors with red borders were hanging on the wall to her right above a table that contained some hair straighteners and all sorts of makeup products that Marinette was sure she couldn't name half of them if she tried.

Each mirror was decorated with small round lights and gave her the impression that she was in some movie set, and the four black folded chairs placed in front of the mirrors only helped to back that image.

To her left, three small cabinets were placed, and covered with red curtains. Marinette guessed they were changing rooms like the ones found in clothing shops.

Two red couches were placed in the middle of the room side by side, with a black coffee table made of glass in front of the couches and a beautiful vase of flower decorating it.

On the far end of the room, the walls slightly curved to make an oval space where two clothing racks rested- Marinette had to surpass the urge to go and take a look at all the hanged clothes-. She noticed Plagg looking out the large window that was placed on that wall while playing with the red curtains and quickly made her way to him.

"Ah, you're here," He grinned then handed her an outfit he was holding and motioned to the changing area, "quick, go get dressed. Also I got you a proper chest binder too, so tell me if it fits." She nodded and accepted the clothes before heading to change.

This time the outfit was more simple and fitting. Plain jeans and a black shirt, however Plagg did include a thick black watch and a silver chain necklace that Marinette didn't mind putting on. She finished getting dressed but noticed that the wig was missing, so she collected her previous clothes and stepped out.

"Mr. Plagg you forgot the w…" Her words died in her throat as she was met with an unfamiliar figure.

A rather petite white woman in her late twenties to early thirties, wearing a sleeveless black top and matching tight pants with red heels that definitely made the woman appear taller than Marinette.

Her black hair that was dyed a pinkish-red for the most part was held in a secure ponytail.

The woman's blue eyes studied Marinette before she spoke in a rather cute voice that still held a maturity to it, "looking for this," She held the wig high in her hands so the girls can see it.

The colors drained from Marinette's face and she felt so small under the woman's gaze, "uh...I...I can...it's not...not what it s-seems...explain...I can…" Marinette stumbled on her words as she tried thinking of an excuse.

A laugh caught her attention as Plagg appeared behind the woman and draped an arm around her, leaving Marinette more confused than ever.

"Man you should see the look on your face, it's hilarious," he pretended to wipe away a tear as he grinned, "relax, this Tikki and she's on our side."

The woman-Tikki pushed Plagg away from her and dusted herself, "stay away from me, you reek of cheese again."

"Aw come on don't you think I look cute in this outfit?" He leaned in but was pushed away again as Tikki made her way to Marinette.

"So this is the poor soul," She mumbled while examining the girl and Marinette felt herself getting more nervous and nervous, just what was going on here?

After a good moment, Tikki finally spoke up, "so why are you doing this?" She asked with her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the girl.

"P-pardon?" She managed to voice, not entirely sure what the woman meant.

"Why did you agree on doing all of this and putting yourself in such a situation?" She asked again and Marinette gulped not knowing how to respond. Should she tell her the truth?

She glanced at Plagg and the man nodded giving her the green light to speak.

And so Marinette told Tikki of how at first she just wanted to help Brian because she knew how it felt to have your dreams crushed and wanted to help if it meant giving the boy another chance at life. She confessed that she did agree to this partly for the money explaining that she wanted to help her mother after her father had died, the last part had almost sent her crying again but she managed to push the tears away.

When she finished, Tikki gave her a warm smile before warping her in a hug causing the girl to freeze in surprise, "I think that it's really selfless and noble of you to want to help both your mom and Brian even if the means are...off, you are a good person and I think both of us well get along very well." She said as she pulled away.

"Does that mean you're on board Sugarcube?" Plagg asked a bit too excited which caused Tikki to roll her eyes.

"Unfortunately yes, I can't let this sweet girl suffer alone with you," She directed her attention to Marinette again and offered her hand, " I'm Tikki, 4Bs' personal stylist, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"It's n-nice to meet you too, I'm Marinette...Marinette Dupain-Cheng" The bluenette was still uneasy and didn't know how to react to all of this but she accepted the handshake.

"Tikki here knows Brian and agreed to help you out when I'm not around especially when costume changing and stuff. She can be annoying when she tries to make everyone a goody-two-shoe like her but you can trust her," Plagg explained and got a light smack on his arm from Tikki.

"Anyways! Here, put your wig so we can go shopping!" The redhead said excitedly as she gave Marinette the wig.

"Shopping?" What was the point of shopping right now; shouldn't she be learning more about the band or trying an instrument?

"Yep! You're not planning to wear dresses and skirts once you move with the boys now, are you?" She giggled and Marinette felt her cheeks warming up in embarrassment, she really hadn't thought about that.

"Yeah, but make it quick, we're on a schedule and we're already late," The man declared while pointing to the ladybug themed clock that was located above the mirrors.

Marinette held the wig in her hand and stared at it for a while, thinking through the decision she was about to make.

"Actually I won't be needing this anymore," She put the wig away and started removing the hair bands that held her hair on its signature pigtails, " The wig will just be annoying to always wear and it can put my identity in danger, so I'd rather just cut my hair like Brian's."

"Kid…" Plagg began a bit stunned, "are...are you sure about this?"

"You don't have to go to such a length Marinette!" Tikki added with a sad look, "And you have such a beautiful hair too."

"Thanks but it's fine, it will grow eventually and… I kind of always wanted to cut it anyways." She smiled sheepishly, "now can you lend me a pair of scissors please?"

Plagg and Tikki exchanged worried looks, the former shrugging lightly.

With a sigh, the woman led Marinette to a chair and pulled a pair of scissors for the drawer, "well you're lucky I have some experience when it comes to styling hair."

"Thank you," Marinette smiled happily and turned to the mirror.

She took a deep breath and eyed her reflection, as the clicks of the scissors echoed and the chunks of hair fell to the ground; she realized how this was the last time she would look in the mirror and see Marinette Dupain-Cheng. At least for a while.

 _"Goodbye Marinette_ " she thought one last time.

* * *

 **Next chapter will probably be up either Tuesday or Friday depends on how much school will mess me up. In the meantime here's a**

 **SNEAK PEAK:**  
 **"and this one, stay away from him, just...don't be too friendly with him he lacks a lot of social boundaries." he said with a nervous look.**

 **"so basically stay away from everyone," she rolled her eyes, "but wait, didn't you say he was the least to be a threat to figuring it out?"**

 **"yeah kid's the most naive and oblivious person out there but he like...swings both ways...and we didn't have a talk but it's clear and..." he huffed and ran a hand through his hair, "listen, I don't care if you date him after all of this is solved but for the meantime let's keep this a musical slice of life and not a dramatic rom-com ok?"**


End file.
